Ibérico Ham Turns Us Into Huge, Impoverished Pigs

Ibérico ham is the most badass of all hams, as it used to be banned in the United States. However, the Spanish delicacy is currently being allowed into the country once again, right in time for Christmas, for quite a price:

Spanish ibérico ham used to be banned in the United States because of USDA restrictions. However, as part of a newish approval process, the first shipments of the stuff arrived last week at New York stores Despaña and Dean & DeLuca. The former is selling free range sliced ibérico at $90-$99 a pound, and the latter has some of the fancier bellota ham at $75 a pound. More ibérico ham is on the way- in fact it’s already at the airport. “It has to clear customs first,” said Angélica Intriago, Despaña’s co-owner. “We’re at the top of the waiting list.”

Well hogtie us and call us Pinky, that’s some expensive-ass ham!

While the price is steep, this ham isn’t gimmick food, like gold leaf dessert nonsense or a claptrap martini doused with transition metal: Each ibérico ham takes a lot of care and a little more than 2 years to produce. Nondescript warehouses in Salamanca, Spain, are literally filled with curing hams requiring individual attention throughout the long process. Each ham also has a nametag bearing the name of its eventual recipient. The curing houses are kind of like weird, artisanal nurseries.

We have actually partaken of said ham and can assure you it is delicious. Then again, we’ve been known to invoke the “ten second… twenty…. half hour” rule when it comes to Wildberry Poptarts, so maybe our culinary taste is not to be trusted.

Expensive Ham Update [Gothamist]