Ham, Spanish — Jamón

Dad still cures his own legs of pork at home and they are very good, but it can never be the same as jamón from Spain. Jamón is the cured hind leg of a pig. The cured front leg is called paletas and the cured loin, lomo. The two main types of jamón are jamón serrano and jamón ibérico.

jamón serrano makes up the great bulk of jamón made in Spain, and is made in large commercial quantities from crossbred pink pigs. It is a classic family snack food — particularly when served with pan catalán (Catalonian tomato bread).