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The butcher shops here in Spain come complete with hanging "legs of ham" to entice customers to buy (especially look where the red arrow is pointing).
Have you ever woken up in the morning and had a hankering for ham? If you answered affirmatively to that question and you live in Spain, you’re in luck: a nice “leg of ham” is waiting for you just around the corner at your neighborhood deli. Yes, you heard right… here in Spain “ham legs” like the ones pictured above are suspended from the air and sold in places like grocery stores and delicatessens.
As an American, I was a little put off the first time I saw one of these ham legs literally “hanging around” in a grocery store. In fact, I remember asking myself how these things don’t go bad after being stuck in the middle of the store with no refrigeration whatsoever for days (or even months) on end. I later learned that these patas de jamón are cured much like beef jerky and thus don’t require refrigeration.
Now that I’ve been living in Spain for close to two years I have to admit that, despite their bizarre appearance, I’ve acquired a taste for these delectable “ham legs.” In case you are curious, this type of ham comes from a special Iberian pig that is native to Spain and these ham legs are sold with much success throughout the Iberian Peninsula. In fact, most families here in Spain buy a pata de jamón once or twice a year and slowly shave ham off of it with a special knife until nothing is left but the bone. The ham from these legs can be used in recipes or in sandwiches.
Let’s use the comments of this post to talk about ham and other foods that are “typically Spanish.” Please, leave me a note below describing both the strangest food you’ve ever eaten in Spain and the best food you’ve ever eaten here. I look forward to hearing from you!
Hasta luego,
–Chris
http://abroadinspain.com
You should talk about the ‘morcilla’… people will freak out!
Here in Argentina they’re are also very common, after all we share the spanish cuisine. It’s delicious!. They’re rather expensive, mainly because they are the last product of pig meat; if the meat start to deteriorate in the process its boiled and produced as jamón cocido or others. In general, the spanish embutidos are the bests!
Doesn’t USA have anything like morcilla? If not, certainly it will appear shocking xD
@Mr. Won and Miguel – You’re right. In the USA there is nothing like “morcilla” and people really would freak out!! In fact, I haven’t been able to bring myself to eating morcilla… it’s just TOO weird for me. (haha)
Anyone else here tried morcilla??
Wow, long time without posting. I liked this entry. As a spaniard myself I’ve never realized the weirdness of having ham legs hanging “around”. I’m not a ham expert, but I believe all hams are cured hanging in the proper environment and they are sold to the stores either completely cured to sell right away to the final costumer(the full leg, cutted in to pieces or sliced), or partially cured to be hanged by the store in their own conditions. This way the product is cheaper and the minorist have the felixibility to sell it in different “cureness” and “tightness” and, of course, he gets some nice ham legs hanging to “welcome” the visitor.
Here in Spain, we eat almost anything: winkles, limpets, marrow, sparrows, we suck the brains out of the shrimps, and almost every single part of the pork, hands, nose, ear, tongue, heart, lung, liver, kidneys, blood, tail, intestines of course,… If you something alive, we probably have a way to cook it.
About the best food… I don’t know… hard to tell. Of course the tortilla de patata and paella(valenciana, mixta, ciega, negra, etc) are always a safe bet. I also really like all kinds of cocido (madrileño, maragato, fabada, etc). And God knows I love callos and oreja, but… if I have to choose only one, I’ll definatelly go with some good homemade chicken and/or ham croquetas!!!
Cheers.
I’m an American, and I’ve been living in Madrid for about three months now, and I’ve tried some Morcilla…I liked but it is STRONG! Delicious, though.
@David – Sorry for the long time without posting. I’ve been a bit busy lately but I’m hoping to get back to posting on a more regular basis now. Anyway, thanks for your explanation of hams and how they are cured, I didn’t really realize that stores got them both “fully” and “partially” cured.
And I have to agree with you that yes, Spaniards do eat just about anything and yes, the “tortilla” is probably one of the best bets when it comes to Spanish food.
I don’t like seafood, so I’m not much of a paella fan myself.
@Brian – You’re much braver than I am for eating morcilla! I can’t bring myself to touch it.
David comment reminded me of a saying (a Martin Fierro quote) “Todo bicho que camina va a parar al asador”
@Miguel – That is actually a really funny quote. I didn’t know it before… thanks for sharing!
hi. i am set to visit spain in the coming months and plan to try one of those hanging hams. which of them is the best variety?
@aldam – You can go to a place called the “Museo de Jamón” in Madrid (it’s like a chain… it’s all over the place in Madrid) and try all the varieties of “hanging” hams you want…..
Oh my lord that ham is delicious. When I was in Spain I would eat that ham with cheese and olives everyday.
Check out Julia Dimon’s blog, she just took a Tapas tour of Madrid, and the places she went look amazing!
http://bit.ly/9ifCAE
Hi Aldam. First of all, please sorry abouy my english, it is still poor. The ham, we love ham. This is a bit simple, but works. There are two kinds of ham, in spanish “Serrano” and “Iberico”. The Serrano ham is a ham from pigs those grown into a farm so the ham is usually fat when looking and, this is very important, have not white parts of fat (good fat) beside the meat. The iberico Ham comes from pigs growing in the country, running all the day and with a acord-based diet. So the ham is thinner and is full of white fat. normally is darker and a bit greasy. This is the good ham, and more expensive than serrano, of course. Depends on the place but will worth about 12-15 Euros (una ración). Regrads.
My daughter’s always toying with being vegetarian. Whenever we see those hams, it turns her off meat for a few days!
I think the past 5 or 6 christmas’s my mum has received a leg of serano ham from her friendly spanish associates! They do love giving out ham! haha
has anyone been on an eco-small boat cruise ?
This is a beautiful view point. so Enjoy your time to the hilt and stay safe.
Thanks to share this great post
I live in Madrid for 2 months, I’m from Sweden.
I admires Spain cuisine.
Spain is best place to live and eat!
Ham looks really very delicious!
I hail from India to live eat in Spain is my dream really I would like to thank you to share it great post.
hola, como español que soy me gustaría recomendaros una de las muchas formas para probar el jamón. Es importante el corte, a poder ser a mano con un buen cuchillo, la loncha que sea corta y fina de grosor, donde podrán ver la beta, la grasa saludable y brillante junto con el color rojizo que le carecteriza, que agradecerá su vista, olfato y finalmente su paladar.
Aunque les sea mas caro pero es agradable probarlo de esta manera siempre acompañado de un buen vino tinto, Rioja, Ribera del Duero o similar.
Si ustedes vienen a visitar mi pais o deciden comprar este manjar, haganlo de esta manera para llevarse la mejor sensacion del jamon ibercio español..
what a fantastic point of view welcome to share this post