It’s the most expensive ham in the world - about $100 a pound - and also the most prized: Spain’s renowned jamon iberico de bellota. Now, for the first time, it’s legally available in the United States. And it looks as if we’ll soon be able to get a taste without leaving the Valley.
Bellota ham comes from black-hoofed iberico pigs that roam free and feed on acorns (”bellota” in Spanish). The pampered pigs’ lush lifestyle - plus three years of air-dried salt curing - creates incomparably luscious meat, complex, intensely rich, sweet and nutty.
In 2005, our bacteria-conscious government agreed to lift the import ban, certifying a Spanish producer who conformed to strict American hygienic standards. (Never mind that bellota ham goes back centuries and has long been exported all over the world.) Fast-forward three years to 2008: The first certified pig-to-ham cycle has been completed, and his hams are off to market. The wholesale cost: about $1,500 for a typical, 15-pound, bone-in leg.