5J - Cinco Jotas Boneless Jamón Ibérico de Bellota Ham - PREORDER

NOTE: This is a 100% refundable deposit only - the first 5J hams are to arrive in 2012. Your traditional Boneless Jamón Ibérico de Bellota ham is an exquisite and costly product. Therefore your final price will be calculated to correspond to its exact weight. Boneless hams weigh on the average about 9 lb. and the per pound cost is $170/lb, so the final price will be about $1,530, depending on the final weight.

Like Beluga caviar or Kobe beef, "Jamón Ibérico de Bellota" is the ultimate of its kind. We have been on a quest for this finest of all hams since we founded La Tienda more than ten years ago.

5J, or Cinco Jotas, is known as one of the elite brands of Ibérico ham in the world. In fact, the word Jabugo, the town made famous by 5J - Cinco Jotas, is now synonymous with top quality Ibérico ham.

5J - Cinco Jotas uses only 100% genetically pure bred Ibérico pigs that live their entire lives roaming the countryside of Spain. Other companies will cross breed Ibérico pigs with other breeds to increase the litter size and raw meat production. 5J - Cinco Jotas prefers to use only 100% pure Ibérico even though it is more expensive.

The hams come from an ancient breed of pig, Cerdo Ibérico, which has been roaming the woodland meadows of western Spain feeding on acorns for thousands of years. Jamón Ibérico de Bellota is the pride of Spain, and Spaniards consume the vast majority of the limited number of hams produced in their own country.

Each fall a traditional group of breeders sets aside a select group of young pigs, allowing them to roam the dehesa woodlands. There they feast upon acorns which are falling in abundance from the holm oak and cork trees. They gorge themselves, putting on at least two pounds of weight each day!

When it is time for their sacrifice (the Spanish term for slaughter), these genetically unique animals produce Jamón Ibérico de Bellota hams that are marbled with rich golden fat infused with the flavor of the Ibérico pigs' favorite food: the acorn -'bellota' in Spanish. Remarkably, a good portion of which is mono-unsaturated, similar to healthy olive oil. Sliced paper-thin, it glistens at room temperature and provides an inimitable rich nutty flavor and tender texture.

Each ham will be weighed before shipping. Because of variation in the size of the jamón, the price of the individual ham will vary. Boneless hams will weigh about 8 lbs.