Flaky ham

My husband and I went to a butchery in Denver, CO and bought the charcuterie plate. It came with this ham that was just divine. Best thing ever. It was flaky. I've never experienced anything like it before. Any ideas how they cured it to be like that? I'd shoot a pig right now for that ham.

I think I know what you're talking about. I've had ham like that, once, like you describe. It was Iberico ham from Spain. What little I know about it, and part of how it becomes the ham of the gods - (oooo!!! Hambrosia. my brain just came up with that!), is the breed of pig, but more importantly, its diet. The pigs whose legs later become Iberico ham spend their lives running around foraging and gorging on acorns. I think the other part of it is how it is cured, which I don't know anything about. Hopefully this helps a little.

Start planting quercus ilex ballota - the sweetest acorns used for celta pigs to make the ham. That and chestnuts. The oakleavess are quite waxy on the upper side of the leaf which makes them great to grow in drier areas.

I think the flakiness relates to old fashioned properly smoked ham from an older pig.

The breed certainly makes a difference.

The typical shop purchased legs are pumped full of liquid and only smoked for a short time.

Because of consumer demand, particularly at Christmas time, pigs are probably only a few months old so their meat is lacking those attributes that an older pig would have e.g. Tougher Intramuscular tissue, gélatine, etc.

30 years ago, the shop bought ones here had that deep red/brown hue right through to the bone and was nicely moist, flaky and oh so smokey. It's very had to get a commercial one like that now. Need friends or 'contacts' that either do it themselves or knows places that do special orders.

Good memories of my family going to midnight mass, getting home and making toasted ham sandwiches with homemade chutney full of garlic, getting a few hours rest then up opening Christmas presents - fried ham and eggs for breakfast too!

Salivating just thinking about it!

James Freyr wrote:I think I know what you're talking about. I've had ham like that, once, like you describe. It was Iberico ham from Spain. What little I know about it, and part of how it becomes the ham of the gods - (oooo!!! Hambrosia. my brain just came up with that!), is the breed of pig, but more importantly, its diet. The pigs whose legs later become Iberico ham spend their lives running around foraging and gorging on acorns. I think the other part of it is how it is cured, which I don't know anything about. Hopefully this helps a little.

Hambrosia. That was it exactly!!! The picture for Iberico ham doesn't look quite the same as what I ate but your description matches my remembrance of it exactly. So delicious!


I did contact the restaurant we ate at and asked them if I could pay for a lesson in how to make it. Here's hoping!

Mandy Launchbury-Rainey wrote:Start planting quercus ilex ballota - the sweetest acorns used for celta pigs to make the ham. That and chestnuts. The oakleavess are quite waxy on the upper side of the leaf which makes them great to grow in drier areas.

It would take a good 20 years for any of that to do well here. lol Not only are we dry but we're cold.

F Agricola wrote:I think the flakiness relates to old fashioned properly smoked ham from an older pig.

The breed certainly makes a difference.

The typical shop purchased legs are pumped full of liquid and only smoked for a short time.

Because of consumer demand, particularly at Christmas time, pigs are probably only a few months old so their meat is lacking those attributes that an older pig would have e.g. Tougher Intramuscular tissue, gélatine, etc.

30 years ago, the shop bought ones here had that deep red/brown hue right through to the bone and was nicely moist, flaky and oh so smokey. It's very had to get a commercial one like that now. Need friends or 'contacts' that either do it themselves or knows places that do special orders.

Good memories of my family going to midnight mass, getting home and making toasted ham sandwiches with homemade chutney full of garlic, getting a few hours rest then up opening Christmas presents - fried ham and eggs for breakfast too!

Salivating just thinking about it!

I free range my pigs and they are all at least a year old at this point. Some older, some younger piglets we don't intend to eat yet. I think I have the right type of ham for this! Just have to shoot one first.

We can't  harvest meat at home here (although many many people do) and I would prefer to not have to send animals away. I will be raising Celtas to start and free range them. Should have some good ham.

I emailed them and  THEY ARE GOING TO GIVE ME THE RECIPE!!!

elle sagenev wrote:I emailed them and  THEY ARE GOING TO GIVE ME THE RECIPE!!!

I made an account just so I could ask you to share the recipe or at least the name of this restaurant.

So, would you please share the recipe or at least the name of this restaurant?

Thank you

Bob Binferapples wrote:

elle sagenev wrote:I emailed them and  THEY ARE GOING TO GIVE ME THE RECIPE!!!

I made an account just so I could ask you to share the recipe or at least the name of this restaurant.

So, would you please share the recipe or at least the name of this restaurant?

Thank you

Butcher's Bistro in Denver Colorado.

I never did get the recipe and had a baby so never got back to them. This is what his email said before telling me he'd get me the recipe though:

It is a very simple ham recipe, with brining it for 72 hours and then hot smoking it.