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Jamón Ibérico de Bellota de Extremadura
Created by Chef Isabel
Jamón Ibérico de Bellota de Extremadura is not cooked, it is handled: tempered, carved thin, and laid on a warm plate so the acorn-fed fat softens and shines.
Jamón Ibérico de Bellota de Extremadura belongs to the dehesa, that open woodland of holm oaks where the Iberian pig eats acorns in season and turns that fat into something no pan can improve. This is not a mixed board pretending everything has the same weight. The ham is the dish.
The method that decides it is temperature and the knife. Serve it chilled and the fat stays waxy. Cut it thick and it chews like leather. Bring the ham to room temperature, warm the plate just enough to take off the chill, and carve slices so thin they bend under their own weight. That is where the silk is.
If you are far from Extremadura, no hace falta haber pisado España. Buy hand-carved jamón ibérico de bellota from a producer you trust, vacuum-packed if that is what you can get, and let it temper unopened before serving. If true bellota is out of reach, jamón ibérico de cebo is the honest substitute. It will be less deep, less sweet in the fat, but still right for the table if you treat it well.
Do not fry it, cube it, bury it under cheese, or drown it in oil. Put out bread if you like, plain picos or good country bread, and leave the ham alone. Pésalo, no lo adivines: a little more than 20 grams per person is enough when the ham is good. Siempre sale, si lo sigues.
Ingredients
Jamón Ibérico de Bellota de Extremadura
Quantity
150g
hand-carved, paper-thin, at room temperature
picos, regañás, or plain country bread
Quantity
200g
for serving
ripe tomato (optional)
Quantity
1
halved, for rubbing on bread
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| Jamón Ibérico de Bellota de Extremadurahand-carved, paper-thin, at room temperature | 150g |
| picos, regañás, or plain country breadfor serving | 200g |
| ripe tomato (optional)halved, for rubbing on bread | 1 |
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