Winter 2011/2012

El Toro chef Eddie Morrelles has recently been back to his home town of Madrid looking for new concepts and ideas for our menu. Eddie who’s brother runs a Tapas bar in the Diego de Leon area of Madrid said “I wanted to try and find some authentic new recipes that offer a little bit of Spain for the El Toro Menu, things like Arro’s Negre (Squid with black rice) or Albondigas de bacalao (cod with a spicy tomato sauce) I also wanted to included a rabbit dish as we often ate rabbit as a family back in Spain, so I slow cook the legs in Cava and add some pine nuts and sultanas to add texture and sweetness.  Spain is also seeing a great deal of innovation in its Tapas bars at the moment and I wanted to offer some new ideas to El Toro such as Mackerel  crisped on the La Plancha and served with an avocado salad and passion fruit vinegar.

Jamón serrano (literally mountain ham)

 is a type of jamón (dry-cured Spanish ham), which is generally served raw in thin slices, similar to the French jambon bayonne and Italian prosciutto crudo. A foreleg prepared in the same manner is called paleta.

Preparation

Fresh hams are trimmed and cleaned, then stacked and covered with salt for about two weeks in order to draw off excess moisture and preserve the meat from spoiling. The salt is then washed off and the hams are hung to dry for about six months. Finally, the hams are hung in a cool, dry place for six to eighteen months, depending on the climate, as well as the size and type of ham being cured. The drying sheds (secaderos) are usually built at higher elevations, which is why the ham is called mountain ham.

Availability

The majority of Serrano hams are made from the "Landrace" breed of white pig and are not to be confused with the much more expensive and entirely different Jamón ibérico. These hams were known as a delicacy even in the days of the Roman Empire

Spanish Ham

 

 

Jamón ibérico Iberico ham, also called pata negra.

Is a type of cured ham produced mostly in Spain and in some Portuguese regions, where it's called presunto ibérico.

Production

The black Iberian pig lives primarily in the south and southwest parts of Spain, It also lives in the southeast parts of Portugal (Barrancos).

The pigs are then allowed to roam in pasture and oak groves to feed naturally on grass, herbs, acorns, and roots, until the slaughtering time approaches. At that point the diet may be strictly limited to acorns for the best quality jamón ibérico.

The hams are salted and left to begin drying for two weeks, after which they are rinsed and left to dry for another four to six weeks. The curing process then takes at least twelve months, although some producers cure their jamones ibéricos for up to 36 months.

In particular, the ibérico hams from the towns of Guijuelo in the Salamanca province and Jabugo in the Huelva province are known for their consistently high quality and both have their own Denominación de origen.

The hams are labeled according to the pigs' diet, with an acorn diet being most desirable:

The finest jamón ibérico is called jamón ibérico de bellota (acorn). This ham is from free-range pigs that roam oak forests (called la dehesa) along the border between Spain and Portugal, and eat only acorns during this last period. The exercise and the diet has a significant impact on the flavour of the meat; the ham is cured for 36 months.

· The next grade of jamón ibérico is called jamón ibérico de recebo. This ham is from pigs that are pastured and fed a combination of acorns and grain.

The third type of jamón ibérico is called jamón ibérico de cebo, or simply, jamón ibérico. This ham is from pigs that are fed only grain. The ham is cured for 24 months.