The Jabugo Route: Tasting Iberian Ham in Huelva, Spain
If you're planning a trip to the South of Spain or Portugal, make sure you taste and savour the renowned Iberian Ham (Jamón Ibérico) in Huelva province. Robin and Arlene Karpan are back with another delightful article, guiding you through the experience of tasting Iberian ham on the Jabugo Route in Huelva.
Iberico ham at a meat shop in southern Spain. Photo Credit: Robin and Arlene Karpan
Iberian ham is in a class by itself—the tastiest but most expensive cured ham in the world. We’ve enjoyed some wonderful hams in our travels; Prosciutto from Italy and Serrano from other parts of Spain spring to mind. But Iberian ham, especially from Huelva province in southwest Spain, takes things to another level.
Here in Huelva, we find 100% Jamón Ibérico de Bellota—ham from pure Iberian breed pigs with black hooves (pata negra) that eat primarily acorns (bellota). And if you’re a picky ham aficionado who wants the best of the best, it should come from the famed Jabugo region in the forested mountains of northern Huelva.
From Pasture to Plate: Learning About Huelva Ham at Jamónes Eíriz
The world of cured ham can seem complex to the novice traveller. So, to get the full pasture-to-plate story, we headed to Jamónes Eíriz, a farm and ham processing facility in the Jabugo region, and a short drive west of the historic Spanish town of Aracena. The family-run business near the tiny town of Corteconcepción has been going for 200 years and is currently run by brothers Domingo and Gerardo Eíriz.
It turned out to be a highlight of our time in Huelva, seeing the pigs in their forest home, getting a behind-the-scenes look at how ham is produced, and ending with a tasting of some of the most exquisite hams found anywhere.
Iberian ham is as much about culture and tradition as food production. What impressed us most was that creating one of the world’s most sought-after delicacies depends on living in harmony with nature. It’s a world away from the industrialized model of pork production common to many countries today.
Note: Jamónes Eíriz offers tours of their pasture and processing facilities in Corteconcepción, followed by ham tastings. The tours last 2.5 hours, and we’d recommend reserving ahead.
100% Iberian Ham: Production Versus Passion
Ham production is so controlled that Spain has designated protected denomination of origin regions (Denominación de Origen Protegida or DOP) for ham in much the same way as for wine producers. Ham from Jabugo DOP has a reputation for unsurpassed quality. To receive the highest designation of 100% Jamón Ibérico de Bellota, and the premium price that goes with it, several stringent conditions must be met.
Coloured tags on the ham leg determine its grade and also its price. A double black label earns top billing, meaning that the pigs are pure Iberian, come from within the DOP, and are primarily acorn fed. Not only are the pigs free-ranging, but regulations require that they have at least one hectare of natural forest per animal.
When a ham has other coloured tags, such as red, green, or white, it means that not all conditions have been met to achieve the top-tier black label. The pigs might not be 100% Ibérico, they could be fed grain rather than acorns, or the farm could have a higher density of animals per hectare. The result can still be a decent quality Ibérico ham, but producers can’t make the same claims or demand premium prices.
The pigs grazing in their pastures at Jamónes Eíriz. Photo Credit: Robin and Arlene Karpan
Domingo calls this “production versus passion.” Rather than compromise on quality for the sake of producing more quantity, he prefers to stick to time-tested traditional methods to make the best possible cured ham. Judges at tasting competitions seem to agree since Eíriz hams have taken home a long list of national and international awards.
A Stroll with the Pigs in Jabugo, Huelva
Domingo and the farm’s tour guide, Natalia, led us on a walk through part of the forest of mostly oak trees that produce acorns that the pigs consume. During acorn season, they can eat up to 10 kilograms per day of their favourite superfood and gain as much as one kilogram of weight each day. They also eat olives that fall from trees, along with grass and whatever else they find on the forest floor. As Natalia put it, it’s as if the pigs are living in the wild, except that a fence surrounds the farm.
Strolling with Iberian pigs. Photo Credit: Robin and Arlene Karpan
The farm lies within a protected forest that is part of a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. A few pigs benefit the forest, helping to keep weeds down. It’s a time-tested win-win for both nature and small-scale pig farming.
“We have the same environmental conditions as 100 years ago,” said Domingo. “If we continue with one animal per hectare, we can keep it for the future.”
Outside of acorn season, the pigs are fed enough grain to maintain their weight but not gain any. Most of the pigs’ weight gain should come from acorns that are responsible for the meat’s distinctive flavour.
Domingo spotted the pigs a short distance away and called them. The small group of purebred Iberian pigs came running to greet us. They have long snouts, are almost black, and can be quite friendly. Living and exercising in the open air of the natural forest contributes to their muscle development.
After two years of roaming freely in the forest and fattening up on acorns, the pigs reach the minimum slaughter weight of about 140 kg, usually in January or February. This is when the Eíriz plant shifts into high gear, processing about 10% of the entire production within the DOP, including pigs from nearby farms that meet the same conditions.
The Long Wait for Perfection for Jamón Ibérico
At the plant, we donned protective clothing to prevent the spread of contaminants and then followed the different stages of producing the famous ham. As we were getting ready, Natalia summarized the whole curing process, adding that this was not a business for those in a hurry. The process takes place over several years.
“It takes a minimum of five years to produce the hams. The pigs spend two years in the field, then the hams hang one year in a natural drying room, and two years in the bodega or warehouse where they slowly mature.”
Drying Iberian hams. Photo Credit: Robin and Arlene Karpan
The cut and cleaned legs and loins that arrive at the plant are first coated with natural salt. After about two weeks of resting in the salting room, the meat is washed to remove the excess salt. Then, the magic begins. As the hams sweat, the fat drips off slowly, and the meat starts to absorb the unique qualities of the mountain air reasonably close to the sea. The hams hang in various drying and curing rooms, all under carefully controlled climate and humidity conditions regulated mostly by opening and closing windows. After three years, a ham loses about half its initial weight.
Eíriz also makes many other pork products loosely lumped together as charcuterie. There are natural sausages, chorizo cured with paprika and spices according to the family’s recipe, and a host of other offerings.
The Proof is in the Tasting
Then, it was off to the tasting room to try different products. Domingo demonstrated his ham carving skills. He slices it into paper-thin pieces using a special thin and flexible knife, a procedure that seems an art form in itself. The ham should be served at room temperature, and Domingo recommended that a fruity white wine or a rosé would be ideal to accompany this Spanish ham.
Natalia led us through the tasting, showing us how to tell the difference in aromas and be aware of changes in taste if you first chew a piece of ham or leave it under your tongue for a few moments. Is the fat oily or sticky? Is the ham soft or chewy? Some hams are sweet, and others are salty; some could be both.
Thinly slicing Iberian ham. Photo Credit: Robin and Arlene Karpan
The biggest question we had was whether or not the more expensive hams warrant the extra cost. When eaten on their own, lesser-quality products can be perfectly fine, even sumptuous. But in a comparative tasting, the top-tier acorn-fed ham stands out—ruby-purple and heavily marbled with fat, the smoky aroma is rich and enveloping. With a smooth buttery consistency, it practically melts in your mouth, the complex nutty flavours having a hint of sweetness.
How Expensive is this Highly Prized Ham?
It ain’t cheap. Because of the careful and lengthy aging process and the need for quality control demanded by the DOP, this premium high-end ham is costly to make.
A 100-gram package of sliced Iberian acorn-fed ham sells for around 10 Euros. If you feel like splurging, you can go all out and order an entire leg of black-label ham weighing about 8 kilos for around 500 Euros.
Tasting Iberian ham in Huelva Spain. Photo Credit: Robin and Arlene Karpan
While expensive, Iberian ham is still affordable enough to be widely consumed as a delicacy. You never eat a big slab of it but rather a few paper-thin slices that don’t add up to a lot of weight. It is most commonly served as an appetizer or part of a tapas meal consisting of a variety of small dishes.
Sustainability and Health-Conscious Considerations for Iberian Ham
Health-conscious folks sometimes look down on ham for being loaded with sodium, saturated fat, and curing additives. But this is no ordinary ham. As Domingo explained, it cures naturally and only sits in salt for a few days during the three years of aging, so little salt remains once we eat it. And he was adamant that “Fat is an absolutely essential part of the product.”
An almost magical transformation takes place during the long aging process. The pigs’ acorn diet not only determines the taste of the ham, but the antioxidant qualities of the acorns also change the fat make-up. Over time, the saturated fats gradually convert into mono-unsaturated fats high in oleic acid — the same fatty acid found in olive oil that has health benefits such as lowering bad cholesterol.
Learning that put the icing on the cake for our ham quest. Not only is Iberian ham an unmatched tasty treat, but it’s also produced in an environmentally sustainable way that benefits the natural landscape. And to top it all off – it’s good for you.