PATA NEGRA IS AVAILABLE IN NYC!
PATA NEGRA IS AVAILABLE IN NYC!
PATA NEGRA IS AVAILABLE IN NYC!
Can you tell I am a bit excited? This the most amazing cured meat product ever!
Made with free-range, acorn fed, black footed pig, I dream about PATA NEGRA.
Despaña, located in Soho, now has this available at $120 per pound. Customers can also purchase an entire leg (approximately 10lbs.) for $1,200! I purchased a $24 portion for four people as a small snack.
Like the Beluga caviar or Kobe beef, Jamón Ibérico is the ultimate expression of its kind. Until now, it has been unavailable in the U.S.
From Spain Guides:
There are two types of black-hoofed Iberico pigs - one that lives the life of a normal pig and one that is free-range fed on acorns (bellotas) and wild plants. These are the coveted Bellota hams. The only difference is in diet and exercise, but those things make all the difference in the world.
The rare Bellota Jamón Ibérico hams are infused with the flavor of their favorite food, the acorn (bellota) from a cork tree. The paper-thin slices, glistening with healthy mono-unsaturated fat, provide a rich nutty flavor and tender texture. Spaniards consume the vast majority of these hams in their own country. Some producers have waiting lists for several years for their best products. They cannot produce enough hams to meet the demand from Spain, France, Japan and now America.
From the moment they are born, the special black Iberian hogs destined for Bellota quality are treated royally. For special periods after their birth, until their sacrifice (as the Spaniards term it), they live, sleep and forage under the open sky in specially maintained oak forests, called "la dehesa". These rare black-hoofed descendants of native Iberian wild boar typically have over five acres in which to forage and roam. They live for about two years in this porcine paradise - many times the lifespan of a normal domestic pig.
In the bulking-up stage each fall, the pigs feast on 15 to 20 pounds of acorns or 'bellotas' per day. This allows them to gain as much as 2 pounds of body weight daily. The consistent exercise they enjoy as they forage in a free-range atmosphere is essential to the final quality of the hams.
Finally, the hams are 'sacrificed', salted and hung up to cure from two to four years. During this carefully monitored period when they are hanging in the mountain air, the hams lose 20% to 40% of their weight. Remarkably, the curing process converts much of the remaining fat of the ham into a beneficial good-cholesterol fat, much like extra virgin olive oil. But this process only occurs in the hams made from acorn fed pigs - producing Bellota hams.
I am hooked! Fino, cava, manzanilla, oloroso, amontillaldo, and tempranillo all call out to me. Let me know if you need some wine recommendations.
I've heard that Suba and Mercat also have it available. And special customers were privy to it at Casa Mono. Likely, Tia Pol or Boqueria soon.
nr. Cleveland Pl.
New York, NY 10012
212-219-5050
Mercat
45 Bond Street
near Lafayette St.
New York, NY 10012
212-529-8600
Suba
109 Ludlow Street
New York, NY 10002
nr. Delancey St.
212-982-5714
