Traditional Ham and Cured Meat

Ordering and More Information

For more information or to order bespoke products or listed products e-mail us at info@spanishselect.co.uk or by ringing the website number 0191 246 1639.

Our Products

Cured ham products, jamon iberico, spanish chorizo and jamon serrano are important features of the spanish meditarenean diet. In Spain they are sold as whole hams (usually weighing about 8 kilos, consisting of the whole hind leg or shoulder of the pig), as cured ham slices presented in vacuum packs or as spanish chorizo or salchicon in large sausage form. Salchicon and spanish  chorizo are available either as large (2 kilo) sausage or as slices in vacuum packs of 100grams or above. Cured ham in spain comes from either the black pigs unique to certain areas of spain or from white pigs.

Traditional Ham produced from black pigs is known as “jamon iberico”. Black pigs usually roam freely across open ranges of oak filled groves and feed naturally on acorns, or “bellotas” in the field. The greater the proportion of acorns (bellotta) in the diet of the pigs the higher the quality rating of the ham and the higher its price. Typically bellotta quality ham is priced at between three and four times that of Serrano ham. Ham produced from white pigs is known as “jamon serrano”. These pale pigs are also used to produce most of the cured chorizo and salchicon sold in spain.

Preservation

In both cases the ham is cured through natural processes over a period ranging from 8 months to three years. The production of cured ham products from both black and white pigs is carefully monitored and controlled by trade and government bodies to ensure the maintenance of the quality which makes this such a unique product.. This gives Ibérico products a very rich and distinctive taste, look and smell.

Spanish select producers cover the full range of ham products. To enable them to cure the ham through natural processes the location of the ham producing factory is critical to providing the correct mixture of temperature and humidity. Our first owner (Tartessos) is from the Huelva area of spain which is well known for its jamon iberico, our second producer is from the sierra nevada and specializes in sliced jamon Serrano. Finally Olot in catalunya is the location of our third producer who produces a wider range of product including chorizo, salchicon, salami and pepperoni. For the UK market all these products are available in 100gram vacuum packs as well as as complete hams or as large sausages. For 100 gram pack ex-factory prizes range from 1.80euros to 7.90 euros with the highest prices for Iberian ham from acorn fed pigs and prices for Serrano ham, salchicon and chorizo from white pigs at the bottom of the range.