Sounds tasty, but at 22 bucks a pound, a bit too rich for my blood. That’s the same reason why I won’t buy those two other tasty hams from Europe; ham from the famous black pigs of Spain and authentic prosciutto from Italy. I’ll stick with Smithfield of Virginia and the other dry-cured hams made from NC to GA.
Is the flavor of these imported products worth the cost to you?
From the NY Times: Jambon de Bayonne, the rosy air-dried French ham with a mild, alluring nuttiness, is available for the first time in this country after Delpeyrat, a major producer, received approval from the Department of Agriculture. Said to have been fancied by that epic gourmand Rabelais, it is made only in the Adour River basin in southwest France, bordered by the Pyrenees and the Atlantic Ocean. Even the salt that’s used in curing must come from the Salies-de-Béarn, saltwater springs from under the mountains. Legend has it that centuries ago, a wild boar, wounded in a hunt, fell into the water and died, and when it was discovered by locals months later, the meat was so delicious that they began curing hams in the salt from the springs
Yes I will buy those products, they are maybe a bit more expensive than other cured meats but not all that much. I think of a 1/3 lb or this on a charcuterie tray with salami etc… I have never seen smithfield or Virginia ham served in paper thin slices like that, is that common? I’m not in ham country.
Yes, it’s rather uncommon but not unheard of to substitute a dry-cured Smithfield or VA-NC-GA ham for prosciutto. Some specialty producers in the South, jealous of the high price of imported prosciutto, have begun calling their stuff “American Prosciutto” and are trying to establish a high end market for their own product. I’ll admit that there is a difference and that I would never pay imported prosciutto prices for any American ham.
A very different product but I love malta, and there’s not much domestic demand for it so it’s all produced in other countries and imported. It gets very expensive here but I still buy it.
I’m not sure if this topic is intending to be about imported foods or about ham. If you intended this to just be about ham then I’m sorry, just ignore my post.
I was in Sweden a couple of weeks ago and was faced with trying to make a palatable dinner with limited resources fro my elderly in-laws. At home, this is a breeze for me, but there were ingredients I just couldn’t get there …that being said, and knowing their tastebuds, I found amazing air dried bacon to garnish my roasted brussels sprouts. It was like nothing I can find in the provincial areas of southern NJ…If I could but it here, I would, although pancetta is similar ( but can’t be eaten without cooking )
Are the dried-cured American hams raw? Parma & Serrano ham are simply salted raw, then hung up to dry & age. No smoking. No cooking. The meat still has the slight translucency of rawness.
The hams are expensive, but have a very, very intense flavor, so u wouldn’t pile as much in a sandwich as u would w conventional cooked ham. The ham is usually served sliced very thin. It’s great on crusty baguette w fresh arugula and bufala mozerella.
Iberico ham (my favorite) is particularly nice because the pigs are fed acorns. =P~
You should try buy small quantities (1/4 lb) of different types and taste test them.
No, as I understand it the traditional dry cured southern hams are not raw. My southern relatives would have never eaten it without simmering it or baking it (ugh, tough!!!), but I have sliced it thin and eaten it without “cooking” it, just like prosciutto. Some folks soak it first to leech out the heavy salt content. It’s great stuff but it’s getting hard to find in some southern and mid-atlantic metropolitan areas except for Christmas time. Couldn’t event find it in supermarkets in Northern Virginia when I would visit there. Apparently the only place you can get it year round at a reasonable price is Smithfield, VA. The last time I bought a whole ham was at a Walmart near Charlotte NC. Northern supermarkets in metro NYC do carry it but it is very pricey.