Fiesta de Jamon Serrano
The prosciutto I've been curing for the last 18+ months rejected its Italian roots and found its true identity as a Spanish Jamon Serrano. I expect the change was spurred by the fantastic jamon carving stand that Jim fashioned a few weeks ago -- even though Jim blasphemed and called it a prosciutto carving stand (see: http://www.meatclub.org/basic-prosciutto-carving-stand).
Regardless of terminology and nationality, it was clear that a party was in order. So, I gathered with a handful of food-loving friends and family and we had a great Spanish-themed dinner on Saturday night with jamon, manchego, chorizo, and a fantastic paella (oh, and lots of wine and spanish cider -- see the last photo). It was a great night.
Here are a few pictures of the jamon carving in progress.
Having waited a year-and-a-half to crack into this leg, I was very excited. But, having never cured a whole leg before, I was also a bit nervous it would be a flop (or worse, filled with maggots). Remarkably, it was (and is) fantastic. It's admittedly a little salty and my carving skills are certainly not that of a master, but it tastes great and is ridiculously fun to carve and share with friends.
It's now sitting on my kitchen counter at home, waiting for friends and neighbors to come by with a bottle of wine or sidra to partake. Drop by....
If you want to see a history of this ham/jamon/proscuitto, see:
