In search of Germany’s finest ham – “Jamón Ibérico” made in Lower Franconia

Among gourmands, Jamon Ibérico, the air-dried ham from Spanish pigs, is well known. It commands high prices and is hailed as the best ham in the world. Particularly famous and renowned is Jamon Ibérico de Bellota, or Bellota ham, which comes from pigs that are raised using traditional acorn-mast feeding.

While Maître Philippe & Filles does not stock Spanish ham, it does offer ham from the Porc Noir de Bigorre, an almost extinct breed of black pigs that has been revived and is raised in the Pyrenees in conditions that are almost free-range, and fed with acorns and chestnuts, among other things. The taste of this ham is exquisite and offers a complex bouquet with notes of dried fruit.

But what about Germany? Does it always have to be smoked Black Forest ham here? No! In Lower Franconia, not far from the small community of Possenheim, “acorn-mast feeding with pigs” is being carried out as a model and demonstration project.

The idea behind Eichelschwein.de was conceived by agricultural engineer Hans-Hinrich Huss, who developed the idea from his diploma thesis on “pigs in forest pastures and the possibilities of reviving this method of farming.” He wondered why this historic method of farming was no longer practiced here and therefore launched the “Hutbewaldung mit Schweinen” pilot project in 2003.  

By now, this has developed into a successful business model, and every year Hans receives around 250 Duroc and German Landrace pigs from a local breeder, which can graze on acorns and small game from August/September to November/December in the Lower Franconian oak forest.

From these pigs, Hans produces 10 air-dried bone-in hams each year, very similar to those known from Spain (i.e., the whole leg with the bone, from which thin slices are shaved off the side), as well as air-dried boneless hams with a special herb and salt mixture. For the production of the hams, Hans works with the Landler butcher shop in Peißenberg near Munich.

To find out whether this “Made in Germany” acorn ham could compete with its Spanish and French rivals, I simply set off for the south of our republic with Daniel Mohr from Kabel Eins, with whom I had already been to Brittany last autumn to uncover the secret of the vintage sardine.�

Early in the morning, we headed into the forest, where we first set off in search of the pigs. They were rather shy at first and had hidden themselves in the undergrowth. The first ones we found ran away from us astonishingly quickly, at a breakneck pace, or rather, at a full pig gallop. But after a while, they gained confidence and hardly ever strayed from our side. Perhaps it was also thanks to the acorns I had put in my pockets and with which I wanted to lure them.

In any case, you can truly say that these pigs lead a wonderful life there in the forest. In herds, they can frolic to their heart’s content, wallow in the mud, and fill themselves with acorns and small game as they please … I could well imagine that the ham would also reflect this movement, fresh air, and lack of stress.

I did not have to wait long: just a week later, the ham from the last pigs of the 2015 season was being produced. Once again, I was allowed to dress up in a butcher’s coat, cap, and overshoes and witness the production.

Anyone who thinks that simply hanging the ham up to dry is enough is mistaken. There are a few more steps involved, with the bone-in ham and the boneless ham being treated differently. In both cases, of course, the top quality of the starting products is important and crucial. 

For the bone-in ham, the fresh hams are soaked in coarse sea salt for about 3 weeks. This is followed by the so-called “through-burning phase,” during which the hams hang for about 3 weeks at a temperature of around 5°C with plenty of fresh air. Next, they are rubbed with pork lard to prevent them from drying out too quickly.

The ham then matures for another 36 months. With these particularly fine hams (Hans produces only 10 of them each year), great care must be taken, as the bone reacts differently than the meat. Hans and Franz told us that they had to accept a few failed attempts at the beginning of their collaboration until they achieved the desired quality.

For the boneless ham, a herb and spice salt mixture is first mixed together, consisting of salt, cane sugar, caraway, coriander, allspice, garlic, pepper, and nitrite, and with this the ham is rubbed by hand for curing (in industrial production, a solution is injected). Here, the nitrite is the curing agent, but only as little as absolutely necessary is used.

After curing, the ham dries for 2 years, but before that, it goes into a special drying room for a few days, where it is slowly cooled from 24 to 20 degrees. For comparison: in industrial production, it dries immediately and continuously at a temperature of 18 to 20 degrees.  – a step that is omitted in industrial production, but which is crucial for the quality of the ham. If it dries too quickly, a crust forms on the outside, while the meat inside remains moist. But if it is dried carefully and slowly, the skin remains elastic and the meat dries through properly. 

For the final 24 months, it then hangs in a drying chamber at 14 degrees with many other products and develops its special aroma.

Preservation by salt, the so-called curing, is by the way an ancient method that is also known from fish and seafaring, for example. In this case, its origins date back as far as the 13th century!

The boneless ham is a fine thing, but we were, of course, particularly interested in the “real” acorn ham, the pure bone-in ham!

And indeed, it does not have to hide: it is buttery-melting and tender, yet firm and with a beautiful texture. It tastes wonderfully savory and salty with a distinct nutty and sweet-mild note, which comes mainly from the fat, making it an absolute must-eat – it practically melts on the tongue!

For this reason, we decided to procure one of the only 10 hams Made in Germany produced each year for you as a small special promotion. 

From today, it is available fresh in our refrigerated display case and also in our online shop!

The full episode can be watched in the Kabel Eins media library. After just one commercial break, it gets straight to the point.