Comments on: Brindisa & euskal txerria ham

By: Niamh

Niamh — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 20:06:35 +0000

Hi Dave! I have acquired a taste for the fines of hams now ;-) Really, it was more a qujery on the price. It is very good that they stock it as you say. It’s so important that we support the small producers, especially those that are preserving heritage products. I am a big fan of Slow Food and think that they do wondrful work.

Thanks for all of the info! I really enjoyed reading that. My Spanish is poor unfortunately but I will take a look at the blog.

By: Dave Forrest

Dave Forrest — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 21:49:29 +0000

I am lucky enough to live and work in the Basque Country and to have met personally the man who saved the Euskal Txerria breed of pig from extinction, Pello Urdapilleta — I have even visited his farm with a tour group from America (San Francisco Farmers Market) and had the, ehem, honour of having one of the little Euskal Txerria piglets deficate on my shoe!

Anyway, I am thrilled to find this article and to see that Brindisa is selling Euskal Txerria ham! I remember their stall at Borough market in London.

I would encourage you to develop your taste for good Iberian ham! Though Brindisa’s prices of £150/kg *are* a bit steep… Pello (judging by local prices) takes in about 15% of that. But the taste has been compared (and I agree) to the Rolls Royce and Bentley of Iberian hams, Pata Negra and Jabugo. The ham is moist and buttery melt-in-your-mouth stuff with a smooth, full flavour that really impresses the taste buds of any Iberian ham lover. This is without a doubt one of the world’s finest cured hams.

The hams have the very best taste because the pigs grow completely naturally. They have plenty of room to roam freely and eat acorns, grass and local plants, never the typical GMO soy from feeding towers, etc. All organic, only natural cereals, seeds and grasses. The farm is beautiful and spacious and Pello refuses to crowd the pigs in to increase his production by a factor of two, ten or twenty — the norm in industrial production for a farm his size. He has resisted numerous offers and pressure from industry, but sticks to his laid back, natural farming which is what he likes. And the result is worth tasting!

Anyone whose Spanish is up to snuff can visit the Euskal Txerria blog, written by a member of the Slow Food Convivium in the culinary capital of the Basque Country and Spain, Donostia-San Sebastián. :

http://euskal-txerria.blogspot.com/

(Yes, I’m also a member of this first Slow Food group in Spain, with a few Michelin-starred chefs on its membership roster, and we are devoted to Euskal Txerria and to Pello for the brilliant natural quality of these products!)

If you’re an Iberian ham fan, do drop into Brindisa for a special occasion and pick some up, I think you’ll be glad you did!

By: eatlikeagirl

eatlikeagirl — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 09:06:36 +0000

Hi Jer, bet that meat tastes great! The Basque region is very high on my list of next places to gorge myself.

B – it’s very expensive but that lot in the photo cost £3.50 which isn’t too bad. I am jelaous of your time in Spain. I would love to spend more time there.

Jeanne – I know, I mentioned the price to a Spaniard and she was horrified! I must say it compared for me with much cheaper local meats we had in Spain, but my palette, I fear, is unrefined. We had the most amazing plate of Alpujarran ham in Granada at a fraction of the price but it’s local there.

Thanks Helda! That’s very kind.

By: helda

helda — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 02:37:45 +0000

Beautiful blog

By: Jeanne

Jeanne — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 17:21:58 +0000

Oh my. Look at that beautiful meat! I’ve never had this particular piggy, but I had an epiphany when I had Jamon Iberico de Belotta (from Jabugo) last year in Madrid. It was the most beaufitully marbled, thinly shaved and altogether decadent meat I had ever eaten and I was groaning in ecstasy. And it didn’t cost £15 per 100g! But even at that price it might have been worth it :P

By: B

Mon, 27 Aug 2007 17:02:01 +0000

I lived in the basque region in spain, and food IS such a priority there. I’m afriad I over-chorizo’d myself while living there, and I have trouble consuming it all the time now a days. However, I only partook in jamon serrano occasionally (3x per week = occasionally by spanish standards) and so I can still eat cured ham with the gusto it deserves.
Wish I could afford that ham!!

B
http://handtomouthkitchen.wordpress.com

By: Jeremy

Jeremy — Sat, 25 Aug 2007 12:17:15 +0000

Hi, looks great. I was in the Basque country in April and apparently all the men get together in cooking clubs regularly to try recipes and taste food. They have a real culture of pride in Basque food and apparently its the country with the highest number of michelin star chefs per head of population. we are just back from Crete where we had some really nice food – expecially the tztaziki (spelled correctly?). if its hot weather then loads of tzaziki is your only man.

BTW I remember a pig being slaughtered at home in the mid 80s. Even up toa few years ago we used send cows to the buthchers and have about 20kilo of steaks in the fridge.