An American Pig

Pig is big. Whether you like it or not, it is hard to open up a menu at any restaurant and not see pork chops, pork belly or Chef Lynne’s favorite—bacon! But this is not a blog about bacon, this is about proscuitto.

Iberico ham in salt cure

First, some ground rules. Dry-cured ham legs tend to all be labeled with the Italian word for it, prosciutto. The most famous example, of course, is Italy’s Parma Prosciutto, but it doesn’t have to come from Parma, or even from Italy, to be absolutely delicious. There is Speck, Italy’s smoked version; and Spain’s versions, Jamon Serrano and Jamon Iberico (a.k.a. the $100/lb prosciutto, pictured here in various stages of curing). These dry-cured prosciuttos have long histories and complex flavor profiles that come from the meticulous aging process.

Iberico ham shortly after salt cure

Then there’s La Querica Farms of Norwalk, Iowa, who introduced their Prosciutto Americano in September 2005. The response was incredible, with many claiming it to be the best prosciutto…ever! In 2006, La Quercia added another winner to their repertoire: La Quercia Rossa—the first and only single-breed, dry cured ham made in the USA.

Perhaps like many of you, I did not quite realize the importance of breeding until tasting La Quercia Rossa. Breeding plays a key role in dry cured ham quality because it actually influences muscle structure, muscle fiber, water holding capacity, fat quality and internal meat characteristics. Since prosciutto flavor develops from the inside, these factors are especially important. La Quercia Rossa is truly an experience.

Like Spain’s Jamon Iberico, La Quercia uses only the finest pork breeds (Berkshire or Kurobuta pork), which are known for the color, flavor and tenderness. For those of you who splurged and tried Jamon Iberico when we had it for sale when it first came out, do you remember the sweet, nutty and not too salty flavor? And how about the way the fat melted on your tongue? Well, here at Shubie’s, we loved the experience so much, but were not always so crazy about the price. So imagine how excited we were we tried La Quercia Rossa and were absolutely blown away! It melts in your mouth, has an incredible nutty flavor, but with a beautiful subtlety and none of that oiliness or heaviness. And the best part, it’s priced more like the prosciutto di Parma than the Iberico at only $24.99/lb.

There’s a world of prosciutto beyond Italy, and now even we in the US have a prosciutto of amazing quality to brag about. Give this amazing domestic prosciutto a taste—I’m sure you’ll love it as much as I do.

La Quercia uses sustainable farming techniques, and only sources its pigs from farms that raise their pigs humanely on open pastures. Read more here!

Iberico ham, later curing stage