Season's Eatings

Black Gold
Oliver Slosser


Unavailable in the United States until 2008, Ibérico de Bellota is one of the world’s most coveted cuts of meat. The swine from which the bone-in ham is produced must be at least 75 percent black pig, a species found in parts of Spain and Portugal. The free-range pigs used for Ibérico de Bellota are fed an all-acorn diet, giving the meat an oily, nutty flavor that develops during two years of aging in the mountains near Salamanca, Spain. The Spanish-food importer La Tienda (800.710.4304, www.latienda.com) offers Ibérico de Bellota both sliced ($50 for 4 ounces) and whole ($1,400 for approximately 8.5 pounds).

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