How to carve Spanish Ham and cut Spanish Ham
Properly carving, cutting and preserving a Spanish Ham are key to the enjoyment of your purchase! These tips will come in useful.
After your purchase of a Spanish Ham, is quite important to keep in mind several simple rules to ensure your experience will be the very best::
- Your ham must be kept well-covered with a clean cloth in a fresh and dry place.
- Keep the external slice of fat you'll get after you first carve into the ham. Cover the ham with the fat after each carving session, and then cover the whole with a clean cloth. The ham's aroma and flavour will last much longer.
- The carving must be made in thin, long slices, for the texture and flavour to be fully appreciated.
- Spanish Ham must always be eaten at room temperature, never cold.
- Your local butcher can answer your questions and concerns.
There is an art to Ham Carving, and several contests throughout Spain that rate the carvers' skills. But the champions of carving are adamant that anyone can carve a ham properly; all it takes is some pointers and the disposition to enjoy a delicacy with a very long history and strong personality.
Carving out a Spanish Ham into cut slices is akin to playing the violin. The knife must cut down along the bone, from the toe to the hip, gently cutting to and fro. The perfect slice will be as wide as the ham and no longer than 5 cm (2"), and paper-thin. The following video illustrates the carving process.
As any art, learning how to carve a ham into proper cut slices takes time. Having the proper carving tools is also important; keep your knives sharp and the holding surface clean and strong. Carving a ham is a family event in Spain, as the members gather around the carver and comment on the tecnique while grabbing the first tasty morsels. Make it so in your home too!