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Jamón ibérico, a Spanish cured ham made from acorn-fed black Iberian pigs, is one of the most expensive hams due to its rarity, unique feeding properties, and lengthy curing process. There are three types of jamón ibérico, with the highest quality being jamón ibérico de bellota. The ham can cost up to $100 USD per pound and was previously unavailable in the United States until 2005.
People may be used to considering most shapes of ham relatively cheap. The opposite is true when it comes to the Spanish cured ham, jamón iberico. This is one of the more expensive hams you can buy due to its rarity, the unique feeding properties of the pigs, the type of pigs used, and the lengthy curing process.
Most variations of jamón iberico come from the black Iberian pig, although there are some versions made from other pigs. These pigs are also available in parts of Portugal, but are mostly found in southern Spain. In order to obtain the unique taste of jamón iberico, the pigs are fed a diet consisting mainly of acorns, and sometimes almost exclusively of acorns, or they are fed partly acorns and partly cereal-based diets. The acorn diet is fatty, causing pigs to develop deposits of oleic acid, which is actually monounsaturated. When pigs are slaughtered, oleic acid is expressed in marbling throughout the meat, which adds a rich flavor to the meat.
There are three types of Iberian jamón and they are determined in class according to the percentage of the diet made up of acorns. The more acorns the pigs have, the higher the quality of the ham, although all three types are considered desirable. The pigs are also free range which makes a big difference for many meat eaters. The three types in order of quality are jamón iberico de bellota, jamón iberico de recebo, and the last one may simply be called jamón iberico or have the words de plenso added at the end.
All versions of the ham are cured, and the curing process takes as little as one year or can take up to three years. The quality across all three types is considered to be extremely high. You can also expect to pay for quality. A whole bellota can cost around $100 US Dollars (USD) per pound. So a 10lb (4.54kg) bone in ham would be about $1000 USD. The de plenso style isn’t much less expensive, costing around $60 USD per pound.
Until recent years, it was impossible to buy this ham in the United States. It could not be legally imported into the States. As of 2005, trade agreements with Spain make importation possible, although distribution is small. A similar ham is produced in Portugal and is called presunto. It is very limited in availability outside Portugal.
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