Update – A reader sent me this link where you can buy online (use 15% off coupon code too); doesn’t come with stand and knife, but you really only need that once.
A buddy sent me an article of an outrageous $550 leg of Iberico ham at Costco before Christmas. At first, I thought it was one of the most ridiculous things ever. After a few minutes though, I was intrigued. I sent a message to my Costco guy, and lo and behold, his Costco store had one. Naturally, I asked him to buy it for me. Note – they didn’t have the $99 version in stock, or I would have just settled for that one. Anyway I got the ~16 lb leg of ham home, took it out and laid it on the table (La Croix can for size reference.) Note – it does come with the stand and knife.
It sat on my table until I finally opened it for a dinner party. This is what it looks like out of the pouch:
You then take the knife and carve the ‘skin’ off. After that, you find the part that hopefully doesn’t have a bone and keep slicing. It takes a bit of getting used to to cut slices prosciutto-thin, but the knife is pretty sharp and you get a hang of it easily. I put the first piece in my mouth, and while I hate to hype stuff up, it was DELICIOUS. As good as what I remembered at the Museum of Jamon in Madrid. It wasn’t as salty as I thought it’d be, which is good (because you can eat more in one sitting.) I was surprised at the amount of fat my leg had though (look at the 1 inch layer of fat at the top of the leg in photo.) There’s more fat on the bottom and side of the ham too, so I’m not sure if I just got unlucky or if that’s how it’s supposed to be (I don’t remember seeing that much fat in the ones I saw in Spain.)
Once you’re done carving, you just put the fat slices you cut off back on the exposed ‘meat’ and that’s sorta it. You’re supposed to refrigerate it, but I just leave it out. For the past 3 days, I’ve sliced off a bit before dinner because why not? Two of my friends said it tasted a lot different than the $99 version, but another friend said while it was better, he’s not sure it’s 5X better. Do I regret buying it? NOPE. Would I buy it again next year? YUP! This is too good to just YOLO. If you find it your Costco, I suggest you TREAT YO SELF.
