Today we went to a jamon farm/factory. The special black pigs of Iberia, whose meat is world renowned as some of the finest jamon, grow up right here at Eiriz in Corteconception...about an hour from Seville. These pigs are raised on a diet of acorns and very little grain for their whole 2 1/2 years. And their delicious jamon is proof of a good life.
They stroll around the farm with about a hectare of land each, eating everything they want, sleeping whenever, never in a cage or herded with a crop. They have a great life.
And dulce suenos.
When their time is up, they are taken by limousine to the processing plant, and then returned here for packing and shipping. It's a process that takes this small family operation about five years per pig (and they process about 1500 pigs per year.) And it's worth every minute. You know, it seems cruel to let a pig live the life of Riley only to slaughter it for our enjoyment, but that's why we're at the top of the food chain. And if broccoli tasted more like bacon, I might consider becoming a vegetarian.
Yep, that's a shit ton of jamon. And here are two more hams.
At the end of our tour of the farm and the packing plant, we were treated to a tasting. Delicacy-level jamon, lovely local wines and...I'm sorry, did I mention the jamon? That's some pig.
We left Corteconcepcion and headed for Aracena and the Cave of Wonders. Now, being from Texas with Carlsbad Caverns not too far away, I wasn't expecting that much. But dayyam...what an impressive cave. It's another crazy story about a shepherd stumbling onto the cave while looking for a lost sheep in the early 1900s. And what he found was incredible.
The pictures hardly do it justice.
Finally, to cap off our day we hit another Flamenco joint, El Arenal. The dancers were fantastico! One of the women was fairly young, and she was so beautiful and graceful...totally mesmerizing!
Tomorrow Jerez and a sherry tasting. I am living the life of an Iberian black pig!
Hi Tracy! Glad to see you two are having a great trip. We only met briefly but Rosa has told me so much about you guys (all good by the way). And YES I did find the Bulls Balls joke funny (must be an Anglo American thing?)
ReplyDeleteAnyway enjoy the rest of your holiday and great job with this Blog by the way... Steve
Thanks, Steve! We are having a blast. I know it's going to end sooner than I am ready for, but we will be taking home some great experiences and the contact information of two new friends! Come see us in Denver!
Delete