Ibérico: a buying guide

Ibérico is the biggest part of what we sell and the part people ask most about. The labels are genuinely confusing (bellota, 100% ibérico, paleta, cebo) and the price range is wide. This is what the words mean and which piece to start with.

Two separate things: the breed and the diet

Almost every point of confusion comes from treating these as one label when they are two.

The breed is either pure or crossed. 100% ibérico means both parents were Ibérico pigs. Plain ibérico means the animal was a cross, most often with Duroc. Both are legitimate. Only the first may use the "100%" wording.

The diet is what the pig ate in its final months. Bellota means it was finished on acorns during the montanera, the autumn and winter stretch when the oaks drop their fruit and the pigs range to eat them. Cebo de campo means outdoor-reared on feed. Cebo means feed alone.

Spain colour-codes the combination on the seal: black for bellota 100% ibérico, red for bellota ibérico, green for cebo de campo, white for cebo.

Everything we stock is acorn-fed. Of those, the ham, the paleta and the loin are labelled 100% ibérico. The chorizo, salchichón, sobrasada and papada are labelled Ibérico acorn-fed.

All of it is cured by La Hoja del Carrasco, who have been curing in Guijuelo, Salamanca, since 1896, using natural drying rooms.

The cured cuts

These are the three pieces cured whole and then sliced. They are what most people mean by "Ibérico".

• Ham (jamón): the hind leg. It is the benchmark everything else is judged against. Ours is cortado a cuchillo, carved from the leg by hand rather than by machine, which gives irregular slices and a softer texture. 100 g, €22.50.
• Shoulder (paleta): the front leg. Smaller, with a higher proportion of bone and a more concentrated, more assertive flavour. If you like the ham, you may prefer this. 100 g, €14.20.
• Loin (lomo): the eye of the loin, seasoned and cured whole. Lean, firm and quite different from the leg cuts. 100 g, €13.90.

Whole pieces exist for all three and are sold to order: a whole ham leg of 6–7 kg, a whole paleta and a whole loin.

The cured sausages

Same pigs, different preparations. All three come sliced in 100 g packs or as whole pieces of 1–1.2 kg.

• Chorizo: seasoned with paprika, which is what makes it red. 100 g, €8.00.
• Salchichón: the same idea with pepper instead of paprika. Rounder and less sweet. 100 g, €8.00.
• Sobrasada: the odd one out, the one worth explaining. It is cured but stays soft enough to spread, seasoned with paprika and spices. It is not sliced. It goes on bread. Roughly 250 g, €9.80.

Papada, if you already know the rest

Papada is the jowl, the cheek and throat. Ours is marinated with paprika, salt and garlic, then smoked. It is mostly fat streaked with meat, sliced very thin. It behaves differently from the leg cuts: left at room temperature the fat goes soft and almost melts on warm toast. 100 g, €7.20.

It is the piece to try once the ham is familiar. At this price it is an inexpensive way to find out whether you like that style.

How to serve any of it

• Take the pack out of the fridge a while before serving and separate the slices. Cold, tight slices taste of much less.
• Serve the cured cuts and the sausages at room temperature. Do not cook them.
• Sobrasada is the exception. It can be warmed slightly so that it loosens.
• Bread and not much else. Toast with tomato works. Strong accompaniments do not.

Where to start

• Never tried it: the hand-carved ham. It is the reference point for everything else.
• Want the most flavour per euro: the papada or the salchichón.
• Feeding several people: a whole piece of chorizo or salchichón costs far less per 100 g than the sliced packs.
• Buying a present: the ham with a jar of piquillo peppers and a bottle of Arbequina olive oil.

If it is the tins you are curious about instead, the tinned seafood guide covers those. The pâté guide covers the spreads.