Lomo Ibérico de Bellota by Fermín

"Tell a proud Italian, or even a Virginian for that matter, that the most noble dry-cured hams in the world actually come from Spain, and heated disputes are sure to follow. It won't matter that each Spanish Ibérico pig is allotted 4 acres to leisurely forage on acorns in a protected Andalusian oak tree forest. Nor would it make any difference to discuss the ancient lineage of the black Iberian pig. The most convincing argument, of course, would be to eat it. Because of the acorn diet, Ibérico ham is high in olenic acid, which is the same healthy fat found in olive oil. Not only do the acorns give the meat an uncommonly resonant nuttiness, but the marbled fat within the shoulder ends up with a relatively low melting point, so the sublime ham melts in your mouth the way no other ham will.

Bellota level pigs spend their final feeding stage blissfully gorging themselves on nothing but fallen acorns and woodland grasses. After slaughter, the shoulder cures for 36 months. The less expensive Recebo level Ibérico ham comes from pigs whose final diets are 85 percent acorns, 15 percent commercial feed."
—Gregory Mottola, Cigar Aficionado (May 2010)

"Iberian pork meat is extraordinary," Ferran Adrià, the acclaimed chef at El Bulli, a three-Michelin-star restaurant in Catalonia, said in a phone interview. "There's nothing like it elsewhere in the world. There's a great difference between a superior ham and all the rest."

—Paola Singer, "In Spain, a Delicacy Rooted in Earth and Tradition" The New York Times (Jan. 17, 2010)

"Unavailable in the United States until 2008, Ibérico de Bellota is one of the world's most coveted cuts of meat. The swine from which the bone-in ham is produced must be at least 75 percent black pig, a species found in parts of Spain and Portugal. The free-range pigs used for Ibérico de Bellota are fed an all-acorn diet, giving the meat an oily, nutty flavor that develops during two years of aging in the mountains near Salamanca, Spain."
—Olivier Slosser, "Season's Eatings," Robb Report (Dec. 2009)

La Tienda is a family-owned company based in Williamsburg, Va., that's dedicated to supporting artisanal and small family firms in Spain. Founded in 1996, La Tienda offers an incredibly broad range of Spanish foods and other unique products. Harris family members travel to Spain frequently to renew relationships with the companies they work with, and also to search for new and fascinating artisanal items. They seek items that continue generations of culinary tradition, and pay particular mind to sustainable and ethical production. La Tienda and its products have been featured in publications such as The New York Times, Saveur, The Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journal, Food & Wine, The Washington Post, Bon Appétit, Fine Cooking, Condé Nast Traveler, Robb Report and others.
—From the La Tienda Website

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