Claudia Romeo: Today we're in Cortegana,
in the Sierra de Huelva in Andalusia in Spain,
to find out all about Ibérico ham.
Iberian ham, or jamón Ibérico,
is one of the most expensive meats in the world.
A leg of it can cost as much as $4,500.
But what is it about this cured meat
that makes it cost so much?
The reason why it's so prestigious
is actually standing behind me.
I don't know if you can see,
but there is some pigs behind me,
and they are of this special breed
called the black Iberian pigs.
During their life, they feed mostly on acorns,
which are very, very present in the Sierra here,
and that's what gives this ham such a special flavor.
So, today, we're going to visit a ham factory
to learn more about how the actual ham is made,
and then we're going to talk about how it's cut,
how it's served, and taste it to see why it is so special.
Black Iberian pigs descend from wild boars
and have been considered a delicacy
since long before our times.
In the year 77, Roman writer Pliny the Elder
praised their superior quality.
In 1493, when he sailed across the Atlantic
for the second time, Christopher Columbus
had Iberian pigs aboard his caravels.
The most expensive of them all sells for 4,100 euros,
which is over $4,500.
But despite the high price,
this ham remains a local favorite.
Black Iberian pigs can be found
in the southern and western regions
of the Iberian Peninsula,
which comprises Spain and Portugal.
In Spain, Iberian ham production is confined
to the provinces of Salamanca, Huelva,
Córdoba, Cáceres, and Badajoz.
Portugal also produces it
under the name presunto Ibérico.
Spanish Iberian ham is protected
by the EU's Protected Designation of Origin.
The five Spanish provinces where it is produced
are split into four different
Protected Designations of Origin.
Out of the total production of Iberian ham,
only 6% comes with a black label,
indicating it's the 100% Iberian pure breed.
Iberian pigs are raised in an ecosystem
known as the dehesa.
Claudia: The pigs live in the wild,
roaming freely in the dehesa.
Per regulations, there shouldn't be
more than two pigs per hectare of grassland.
The dehesa is rich in olives, nuts, and berries,
but especially in acorns,
called "bellotas" in Spanish,
which are rich in nutrients and fatty acids.
Basically, a superfood for pigs.
Claudia: So, after learning all about
the black Iberian pig
and why it's such a special pig
and different from any other breed,
we are at a local company here in Cortegana, Lazo,
to find out about the making process of the hams.
Ham comes from the rear leg of the pig.
Most companies will also cure the front leg,
called paleta,
and use the rest of the meat
for other products, like chorizo.
Lazo stores over 150,000 legs in its cellars.
Some of the hams made here come from
an even rarer breed of the Iberian pig,
the Manchado de Jabugo,
which has black patches on its skin
and can only be found in the Sierra de Huelva.
The pigs are killed when they are 15 months old.
The hams and paletas
are then buried in salt for 15 to 20 days,
depending on weight.
Claudia: After salting, the process starts
to gradually slow down.
The legs spend about two months
in a temperature-controlled room.
Then they are moved to an airy room
for six to nine months.
Claudia: The final stage of curing,
and also the longest,
is the one in cellars.
On average, an Iberian ham needs
a couple of years to reach its peak flavor,
but some legs can cure for much longer.
Claudia: To get a better understanding of how
Iberian ham is labeled on the market,
we visited Productos de la Sierra,
a shop in Seville that sources local products
from Andalusia at no farther than 250 kilometers.
How we know if it's a good ham?
Needs to be, you know, soft,
and the fat needs to melt
with a little bit of temperature,
so it's a good one.
Claudia: As with its origin and environment,
Iberian ham is carved using a specific technique,
which can take a lot of time to learn.
Claudia: So, this one is our jamón Ibérico.
This is 100% Ibérico, which is the highest grade.
It's cut in, like, such a divine shape.
I've never seen a ham cut like this.
You know, you're used to those, like, very long,
just a bit sad slices.
This one looks, like, kind of royal.
And the room smells so nice. It smells so nice.
And actually, before I try it,
I just want to point out how shiny is this fat.
So good. So good. I have no words, and my voice is gone.
[laughs] It is so good.
It's not salty.
Like, that's the thing that astonishes me
every time that I have, like,
good-quality ham, or meat in general,
that it doesn't taste like salt even though
it's a main stage of the production, of course.
It's just nice and flavorful. Taste is nutty.
Like, you can taste the acorn in here.
It really traces back
to the actual pig that made this.
It's really nice, and especially the fat.
You should keep it; it's very nice and greasy,
adds a bit more of a buttery texture.
And the marbling as well.
Because these pigs are smaller
than the usual pigs we're used to,
and there is more muscles in their legs rather than fat.
It's very, very tender,
and it really has a different flavor
compared to other hams.