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Jamon iberico
2014-05-21 23:42The good stuff. "Ham" from a special breed of pigs, ideally fed on acorns. Not legal for sale in the US until a few years ago. Silly me, I didn't find any in Spain when I was there. I did have some last year, in a meat and cheese bar in Providence, of all places; tasty, but didn't think it worth the price. I think I've bought alleged iberico in Chile, but don't remember if it seemed plausibly genuine.
Well, Trader Joe's has it now, in packs of 2 oz for $5.99, which is $48/pound, or the most expensive foodstuff I know of short of saffron. (Blake and I ordered an ounce of that online for $40, whic is a bulk discount; if you buy off the shelf you're likely seeing $240/oz effective price, or fraud.) More expensive than bulk herbs and spices... actually, I suspect iberico is best treated as something of a spice, i.e. a garnish, or else something you savor in small bits for its flavor, vs. piling in a 4oz heavenly ham sandwich...
It's just "jamon iberico", so I assume it's the lowest grade, which matches what Wikipedia says about the likely prices. Still pretty tasty. And if you're into ethical carnivory, I imagine these pigs have had as good a life as any...
Well, Trader Joe's has it now, in packs of 2 oz for $5.99, which is $48/pound, or the most expensive foodstuff I know of short of saffron. (Blake and I ordered an ounce of that online for $40, whic is a bulk discount; if you buy off the shelf you're likely seeing $240/oz effective price, or fraud.) More expensive than bulk herbs and spices... actually, I suspect iberico is best treated as something of a spice, i.e. a garnish, or else something you savor in small bits for its flavor, vs. piling in a 4oz heavenly ham sandwich...
It's just "jamon iberico", so I assume it's the lowest grade, which matches what Wikipedia says about the likely prices. Still pretty tasty. And if you're into ethical carnivory, I imagine these pigs have had as good a life as any...