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Thanks I'll try- yes I do prefer bone in- I grew up in Spain and now have a baby and infant so my trips back to Seville are less frequent.. but I so miss Jamon- really prefer Iberico no doubt but as PP noted, from tienda.com it's available at $1800.. a little rich for my taste.. I was hoping some of the hispanic places would have the true Jamon Serrano..
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I doubt you will find a place that sells Jamon Serrano from a bone-in leg, and cuts it with the grain, as you would find in Spain. Recently I have bought good Jamon Serrano from a boneless leg at Balducci's (I usually go to Bethesda, but am sure they also have in McLean) and from Dean and Deluca downtown.
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re: bachinskin
Didn't I read recently that the laws for this ham have changed reecently? Or is that Iberico Ham? Or is that the same thing? Or is it something else? And didn't I read that Jose Andres of Cafe Atlantico et al has sometype of distributorship rights for the DC/Balo region? And didn't I read that he would be selling it? And also allowing few select purveyors such as Balducci's to sell it too? Come on. Someone else must have read that.
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re: Pappy
Of course. Seems there's always a more exclusive version of everything. Then they can charge a lot more money.
Jamon Iberico de Bellota is from black pigs (pata negra or black foot) which eat acorns as they range free in cork forests. This accounts for a very small amount of production and commands very high prices. There are many grades of Iberico as well as the Serrano, made from white pigs, which is less costly. They all taste much like prosciutto and vary in quality in the same way.
US regulations allowed the importation of these products again several years ago but there aren't many companies in Spain willing to endure the paperwork and inspection process. You're less likely to see artisanal products unless they can command really high prices in the US market to compensate for the headaches. Andres may have an exclusive relationship with someone for their products but there will be others as well. Now that the market has opened, there will be lots of it available at many price points and some will be rip-offs.
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re: Pappy
Lydia R
Jan 4, 2008 09:28 AM
Pappy -- I'm not sure which article you're flashing on, but here are links to two:
A NYTimes article that notes La Tienda as a retail source and also mentions the Pata Negra pigs in MakingSense's post. Seems they won't be immediately available because they take longer to cure:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/05/dining/05hams.htmlA WaPo article from this week that highlight's Jose's activities and upcoming PBS series:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/01/AR2008010100602_pf.htmlMaybe calling ThinkFoodGroup's offices would yield a retail resource list:
http://www.thinkfoodgroup.com/
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