How to Carve Our Jamon

The first thing to check is the label. If it says “Fermín”, you have the most extraordinary Spanish delicacy in front of you. Now, follow these instructions to carve your ham or shoulder properly.

Be extremely careful with the knife, and place your hand venid the tool at all times, holding the leg or the base, always far from the way of the knife.

If you start from la maza (the widest side) this is what you do:

Start by cutting the area that is two-fingers down the elbow. The first cut has to be straight, while the second one at an angle. Then remove that part that will come out with a pink colored fat. You can discard that part.

Using only the tip of the chef knife, mark the area you are planning to carve (and a bit more) all around the ham. This is to clean all the external brownish/yellow fat on both sides of the ham. Don’t insert the knife too deep, this cut is small and gently. Leave a minimum of ½ inch of fat surrounding the ham to keep the ham from becoming dry.

Keep the external fat, you may need it to cover protect the meat from drying out, in case you are not cutting the whole ham the same day. Another option will be to add some olive oil and plastic wrap over the sliced surface.

If the first layer of external fat is not enough, slice one or two more until you see the meat.

Once you find the meat, change to a flexible slicing knife. It’s time to start slicing this piece of art!

The knife and the cut has to be flat so that the slices can be very thin and no longer than two inches. Don’t add pressure to your hand, this is a gently move, imaging you are playing the violin. The meat almost control the knife here. Just make sure the knife is always flat. Avoid creating an “u shape”. The entire meat area should be flat at all times.

The ham has an amazing marbling: that’s the magic of the Fermín ham. The fat is extremely flavorful and healthy, since it’s high in good cholesterol. So don’t remove the fat from the slices, it will melt in our mouth very smoothly, with a rich and long flavor which makes this ham so unique and special.

At some point, you’ll find the hip bone. Using the edge of the small paring knife, cut around the bone so that you can use every single little part of the ham. Follow the bone’s shape to continue slicing.

We will have two cuts in the form of a step

Once we set the ham in the stand, we’ll have to start, as we did previously, removing the external fat, and then, start slicing again!

Do not discard all the small pieces, you can use every single piece for cooking. (link to recipes). The white pieces of fat can also be used for cooking, but not the orange/brown pieces.

If you don’t use all the jamon (or shoulder), cover the meat with the long fat slices you removed at the beginning and cover it with plastic paper to prevent the air to cause mold immediately. Make sure you store it in a good temperature (65F). If you don’t use the remaining meat in several weeks, no problem. Just clean any external new mold with a towel paper with the same fat of the jamon or oil (no flavor oil or good quality of olive oil).

We will have two cuts in the form of a step

Once we set the ham in the stand, we’ll have to start, as we did previously, removing the external fat, and then, start slicing again!

Do not discard all the small pieces, you can use every single piece for cooking. (link to recipes). The white pieces of fat can also be used for cooking, but not the orange/brown pieces.

Then you will find the fibula bone. Make a mark about a finger from where the bone ends, and start cutting from there. The first slice is taken in the opposite direction (towards the hoof area). All the others are cut towards us.

As with the fibula, you will find the femur bone. Approximately one finger from the bone, we mark the second step, changing our cutting area again. Then, start slicing, the first slice forward and the rest backwards. Continue marking the hip bone to keep our cut horizontal.

If you don’t use all the jamon (or shoulder), cover the meat with the long fat slices you removed at the beginning and cover it with plastic paper to prevent the air to cause mold immediately. Make sure you store it in a good temperature (65F). If you don’t use the remaining meat in several weeks, no problem. Just clean any external new mold with a towel paper with the same fat of the jamon or oil (no flavor oil or good quality of olive oil).

Enjoy our gem with a great glass of wine and let us know if you need more information… or more ham!

DOREEN COLONDRES
Fermin’s Chef Ambassador

The first thing to check is the label. If it says “Fermín”, you have the most extraordinary Spanish delicacy in front of you. Now, follow these instructions to carve your ham or shoulder properly.

Make sure you have at least two style of knives, one long and flexible slicing knife and a rigid and shorter carving knife (or chef knife). A third one called pairing knife is also good to clean around the bones. It is also recommended to have a sharpening tool to use during the process.

Make sure the ham is properly set in the stand and in good (room) temperature to carve. If you are slicing a lot, start with the widest part up, if not, we recommend to start from the narrow side.

Be extremely careful with the knife, and place your hand venid the tool at all times, holding the leg or the base, always far from the way of the knife.

If you start from la maza (the widest side) this is what you do:

Start by cutting the area that is two-fingers down the elbow. The first cut has to be straight, while the second one at an angle. Then remove that part that will come out with a pink colored fat. You can discard that part.