Inflight Magazine of Brussels Airlines

Hamming it up

Ditching the Spam, Heidi Fuller-Love heads for Spain and makes a pig of herself on cured ham

Spam, that pork-flavoured blancmange that starred in countless Monty Python sketches, could never be a hit in Spain. Carved into wafer-thin slices, sandwiched between slices of bread or just fried with a drizzle of olive oil, cured ham has been the staple of Iberia’s meat-lovers since Roman times. “Even when the Moors came to power in the 8th century and banned pork, they couldn’t stamp out our love of it – it just went underground,” says Malaga tapasbar owner Diego Aguilar. “When Christianity returned to Spain, even more people ate ham because it was seen as proof you were a true believer.”

Fast-forward to the 1990s and Spain’s romance with cured meat took an erotic turn when Javier Bardem compared Penélope Cruz’s breasts to tender strips of serrano in Bigas Luna’s hit film Jamón Jamón. “That scene was a bit hammy, if you’ll excuse the pun, but it’s true that we’re as passionate about our cured meats as other countries are about wine,” says Javier Lopez, member of Consorcio de Jamón Serrano, which unites 18 of Spain’s top producers. “It boasts such a variety of flavours and textures that our local experts regularly organise tasting sessions, just like oenologists do.”

Food celebrities including British chefs Gordon Ramsey and Jamie Oliver, have fallen for Iberia’s cured pork, too. However, meat neophytes faced with several hundred Spanish hog varieties to choose from are often nervous of making costly mistakes. “First-time tasters should remember the best-quality Spanish ham comes from the Iberian blood line, which splits into two main groups,” says Lopez.

Group one is jamón ibérico de bellota, ham’s equivalent of caviar. This is produced from free-range black-hooved pata negra pigs descended from the Mediterranean wild boar and fed an exclusive diet of acorns. Group two is the more affordable jamón serrano, or mountain ham. Cured at high altitudes and consumed with a lot less attitude, this tasty hock is produced from huge white hogs that have at least 75% Iberian bloodstock, and is the ham you’ll find hanging in most Spanish bars.

“Serrano is delicious,” says Paolo Ghirelli, owner of chic Marbellan restaurant La Meridiana. “It’s cured for at least seven months and is slightly sweeter than Italian prosciutto. But jamón ibérico, which is generally cured for a year or more and has a distinctive nutty flavour, is in a class of its own.”

If you think Spanish ham is bad for you, think again. According to recent studies, Iberia’s cured meats are packed with monounsaturated fats, which increase good cholesterol. So chuck away that tin of Spam and follow me on a tour of Spain’s top ham hideouts.

Historic ham hangout

To learn more about Iberia’s best-loved pork while snacking beneath a ceiling hung with hocks and hooves, head for one of Madrid’s Museo del Jamón (www.museodeljamon.com). More like ham-themed bodegas than repositories of the cured meat’s history, they attract a composite crowd of well-heeled bureaucrats and down-at-heel arty types who sit shoulder-to-shoulder at the zinc-lined bars snacking on delectable specialities such as habas con jamón (broad beans dotted with chunks of serrano) and vieiras al serrano (scallops sautéed with serrano).

Wildest ham fiesta

Dubbed Spain’s ‘forgotten corner’ by locals because it’s so far off the beaten track, the mountainous province of Teruel, 4 hour’s drive from Barcelona, 3 hours from Madrid, was the first in Spain to be awarded a denomination of origin quality stamp for its serrano hams. To celebrate this accolade, meat-makers hold the annual Feria del Jamón de Teruel (www.teruel.com), a boozy two-day knees-up when hams are cured and hung to the tune of flamenco music and local chefs cook succulent ham-based dishes such as serrano con higos (ham with figs) and serrano con puerros (ham and leek hotpot) over a line of open fires.

Europe’s highest ham

An hour’s drive from Málaga is the tiny Alpujarran hamlet of Trevélez which, at 1,476m above sea level, claims to be the highest village in Europe. It’s also famed for its snow-cured serrano hams. Head for Méson del Jamón (tel. ), a rustic venta just up from the main square. Here you can sit on the terrace admiring panoramic views and watching those scrumptious hocks curing in the cool mountain breeze as you sip on fruity local Terreno wine and sup on luscious serrano snacks.

Best places to buy

Barcelona’s buzzing food market, La Boqueria (Plaza de la Boqueria, www.boqueria.eu), is a great place to buy ham. In Bilbao, head for Cofradía Europea del Vino (71 Calle Licenciado Poza), or in Málaga you’ll find cured ham at Mallorquina (1 Calle Sagasta). Or you can buy some of Spain’s top cured meat online from IberGour (www.ibergour.com).

Top ham joints

Six of the best

Barcelona Botafumeiro
81 Calle Gran de Gracia, tel. , botafumeiro.es

Join the chic clientele and order treats such as jamón bellota con pan tomate (crisp toasted bread dunked in olive oil, coated with hot tomato and served with slivers of bellota ham) at this swish Galician eatery.

Bilbao Casa Victor Montes
8 Plaza Nueva, tel.

A glass of vintage Rioja slips down well with serrano pintxos and other cured meat treats served at this traditional Basque restaurant, hidden behind a gold-trimmed, modern façade in the heart of the city’s old town.

Madrid La Trucha
3 Calle Manuel Fernández y González, tel.

Head for the counter and carve yourself elbow room among the crowds who come to taste the salty-sweet jamón iberico in this popular bodega.

Malaga Gorki
6 Calle Strachan, tel.

Choose an outside table in this tapas bar close to the city’s hippest shopping street. Order a cool tumbler of sweet, white Rueda and a plate of mixed snacks, then sit back, relax and watch the world go by.

Best ham snack

Barcelona’s buzzing food market, La Boqueria (Plaza de la Boqueria, www.boqueria.eu), is a great place to buy ham. In Bilbao, head for Cofradía Europea del Vino (71 Calle Licenciado Poza), or in Málaga you’ll find cured ham at Mallorquina (1 Calle Sagasta). Or you can buy some of Spain’s top cured meat online from IberGour (www.ibergour.com).

FR Le tour des jambons

Coupé en très fines tranches, inséré dans un sandwich ou grillé avec un léger fil d’huile d’olive, depuis l’époque romaine le jambon fumé est un aliment essentiel pour les amateurs de viande de la péninsule ibérique. “Le jambon espagnol de qualité supérieure est issu d’une lignée ibérique, qui se divise en deux principaux groupes,” explique Javier Lopez, membre de Consorcio de Jamón Serrano.

Le Premier Groupe est le jambon ibérique de la variété bellota. Il provient d’une race porcine de ferme noire ‘pata negra’, descendant de sangliers sauvages de la Méditerranée et nourris exclusivement à base de glands. C’est l’équivalent du caviar dans l’univers du jambon. Le Second Groupe est le jambon serrano, plus abordable, appelé aussi jambon de montagne, que vous trouverez suspendu aux crochets de la plupart des bars en Espagne.

A Madrid, visitez l’un des musées du jambon (www.museodeljamon.com). Ces derniers attirent un public diversifié où se retrouvent alignés côte à côte au bar en zinc, des bureaucrates tirés à quatre épingles et des artistes plus bohèmes. Si vous désirez découvrir des porcs pata negra dans leur habitat naturel, prenez part à un tour d’un jour ou d’une semaine de la Sierra de Aracena, centre du fameux jambon Jabugo (www.euroadventures.net).

La province montagneuse de Teruel, à 4 heures de route de Barcelona et 3 heures de Madrid, fut la première en Espagne à recevoir l’appellation de produit d’origine pour ses jambons serrano. L’octroi de ce label de qualité est célébré annuellement, à l’occasion de la Feria del Jamón de Teruel (www.teruel.com). Le petit hameau de Trevelez, à une heure de Malaga, est réputé pour ses serrano séchés selon d’anciennes traditions. Rendez-vous à la Méson del Jamón (tel. ), une halte rustique juste en haut de la place principale.

Le marché animé de Barcelone, La Boqueria (Plaza de la Boqueria, www.boqueria.eu), est un fantastique endroit pour acheter du jambon. A Bilbao, entrez à la Cofradía Europea del Vino (71 Calle Licenciado Poza), ou à Malaga vous trouverez du délicieux jambon séché à Mallorquina (1 Calle Sagasta). Ou encore vous pouvez acheter les meilleurs jambons salés d’Espagne en ligne sur le site IberGour (www.ibergour.com).

NL Heerlijke hammen

Ze zijn overheerlijk in flinterdunne plakjes op de boterham of gebakken in wat olijfolie. We hebben het natuurlijk over de Spaanse hammen, die vleesliefhebbers al sinds de Romeinse tijd doen watertanden. “De beste kwaliteit Spaanse ham komt van de Iberische bloedlijn, die twee hoofdsoorten omvat”, zegt Javier Lopez, lid van Consorcio de Jamón Serrano.

De eerste soort ham is afkomstig van pata negravarkens. Deze vrijlopende wilde varkens met zwarte hoeven stammen af van het mediterrane everzwijn en krijgen uitsluitend eikels te eten. De jamón ibérico de bellota is de kaviaar onder de hammen. De tweede soort is de betaalbaardere jamón serrano of bergham, die je in de meeste Spaanse bars ziet hangen.

Bezoek in Madrid een van de vele museo del jamón (www.museodeljamon.com). In die etablissementen zit een gemengd publiek van bureaucraten en bohemiens broederlijk naast elkaar aan verzinkte togen. Wil je de pata negravarkens in hun natuurlijke omgeving gadeslaan, schrijf je dan in voor een tocht van een dag of een week door de Sierra de Aracena, de bakermat van de beroemde jabugoham (www.euroadventures.net).

De bergachtige provincie Teruel, op 4 uur rijden van Barcelona en op 3 uur van Madrid, kreeg als eerste in Spanje een beschermde herkomstbenaming als kwaliteitslabel voor zijn serranohammen. Dat wordt elk jaar gevierd tijdens de Feria del Jamón de Teruel (www.teruel.com). Het kleine dorpje Trevelez, op een uur van Malaga, is beroemd voor zijn op grote hoogte (boven de sneeuwgrens!) gedroogde serranohammen. Ga naar Méson del Jamón (tel. ), een rustieke venta vlakbij het centrale dorpsplein.

La Boqueria (Plaza de la Boqueria, www.boqueria.eu), de drukke voedingsmarkt in Barcelona, is een goede plaats om ham te kopen. Breng in Bilbao een bezoekje aan de Cofradía Europea del Vino (71 Calle Licenciado Poza) op in Malaga vind je gedroogde ham bij Mallorquina (1 Calle Sagasta). Of koop je Spaanse kwaliteitshammen online bij IberGour (www.ibergour.com).

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