Despite already having thrown two parties devoted to enjoying our jamon serrano (see: http://www.meatclub.org/fiesta-de-jamon-serrano), and my daughter's and my devoted snacking, I still had the majority of the jamon untouched as of last week.  So, another party, with a lot of people, was required.  And so we had one this past weekend, filled with great food, great friends, and great weather.  Here are a few pictures of before and during the party (with a nice shot of Pepper, perhaps the jamon's greatest booster):

During the first two parties, we sliced away on the narrower end of the leg, which was drier, less marbled, and perhaps a bit saltier.  For this party, we flipped the leg over and dove into the big, thick, fatty side, and it tasted great.  Still a bit salty, but we had lots of great food a drink to balance it out.  Others who attended can chime in with comments with their own unfiltered opinions.

After everyone left the party, I still had way more meat on the bone than I and my family could consume in the near future.  And, since the leg had already been cut open and at (cool) room temperature for over a month, I decided it was best to cut the remainder off the bone and put the best meat in the fridge for slicing up in upcoming weeks (months?), and save the lesser meat for braises, soups, etc.  Here are a few pictures of the final steps:

In all, it was fun to make, tasty to eat, and most of all, great fun to share with friends.  Time to get another leg and bury it in salt ....

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:

http://www.meatclub.org/proscuitto-begins

http://www.meatclub.org/prosciutto-teaser