100% Ibérico Acorn-fed Ham Free Range | Jamon Ibérico de Bellota by Fermin
What you're actually buying
| Approximate weight | 17–20 lb, bone-in |
| Servings of 1 oz | about 139 |
| Cost per serving | about $8.60 |
Servings are an estimate based on typical edible yield once bone, rind and outer fat are removed.
Acorn-fed 100% Ibérico ham, cured 48 months | Jamón de Bellota 100% Ibérico, also known as Pata Negra
Made from 100% Ibérico pigs fed on acorns through the montanera season and cured for four years. This is the king of Ibérico ham, chosen from pure-bred Iberian animals that roam freely and roughly double in size on a diet of acorns. Approximate weight 17–20 lb.
Ibérico ham comes from a singular breed of pig in a unique ecosystem — the dehesa grasslands — and a cool, dry climate that allows curing in optimal temperature and humidity. Its artisanal curing process has been preserved since its inception.
From a single ham you can identify up to seven different flavours depending on the zone where it is cut: a multitude of hues, aromas and scents in one piece.
We selected Fermín Embutidos, based in La Alberca, Salamanca, one of the best Ibérico producers available in the US, with a tradition dating back to 1956. Fermín won the Gold SOFI Award for Best Meat Product in 2011.
All natural: free of nitrites and nitrates.
How to know it's the real thing
Spanish law (Real Decreto 4/2014) requires every Ibérico leg to carry a coloured seal on the hoof declaring breed and feed. Four colours, no ambiguity:
- Black — bellota 100% ibérico: pure Iberian breed, acorn-fed, free-range
- Red — bellota ibérico: crossed breed, acorn-fed, free-range
- Green — cebo de campo: free-range, fed on grass and grain
- White — cebo: grain-fed, raised indoors
This piece carries the black seal, the highest of the four grades. The seal stays on the leg — check it yourself before the first cut, and see which label words mean nothing at all.
Same grade, two cheaper ways in
At about $8.60 a serving this is the most ham, and the most work. Both of these are acorn-fed Fermín as well — one is the front leg instead of the back, the other arrives sliced and needs no stand and no knife.
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This one — whole leg, bone-in 17–20 lb · about 139 servings · about $8.60 each |
$1,198 |
|
Fermín acorn-fed Ibérico shoulder, bone-in 10–14 lb · about 73 servings · about $7.25 each · the same black seal, less per bite |
$529 |
|
Fermín acorn-fed ham, sliced 4 packs × 2 oz · vacuum sealed, ready to serve · about $16 per serving |
$130 |
A whole leg is the cheapest way to eat bellota and the slowest. If this is for one occasion rather than for months at home, the sliced packs usually cost less in total even though they cost more per bite.
Worth reading before you commit to a whole leg
- How much jamón do I need? — 139 servings is a lot of ham. This works out what your guest count actually needs, and prices the same party three ways.
- How to carve a whole jamón — first cut, which way the leg faces, and how to keep the cut face covered between sessions.
- Bellota vs cebo de campo vs serrano — what each grade legally means, and the cost per serving of six whole pieces side by side.
- The Ibérico buying guide — seals, cost per bite, bone-in vs boneless, and keeping a piece once it is open.
