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How to cut ham

The tools to cut your Iberian ham in the best conditions

The cutting support, Jamonero

You will need a cutting support to hold the ham in place while you cut it and of course a knife.
This support is also called “Jamonero”

You will find many types of supports, the most important is to have a Jamonero that firmly holds your ham in place.

Knives

You will absolutely need a ham knife.
It is recognizable by its long thin and flexible blade.
Some have holes or dimples in the middle of the blade, this prevents the ham from sticking to the blade and therefore facilitates the separation of the slices.

You will also need a boning knife.

Cutting the ham

The ham must be firmly held inside the holder to prevent it from moving. Always hold the ham with one hand while cutting with the other hand, so it is important that the hand holding the ham is always higher than the hand holding the knife. Cuts should always be made in the opposite direction of your hand. This will prevent you from cutting yourself.

Remove the skin from your Iberian ham

Before you can properly carve your Iberian ham, you need to remove the outer skin using a boning knife. to create this step more easily, start by creating a vertical cut with the knife around the shank of the ham. This cut can then be used as a starting point from where you will start slicing on the maza and countermaza sides. Once the vertical cut is made, you can start peeling the ham. This consists of removing the skin that envelops the fat in the ham formed during the drying and curing process. To start getting rid of the outer layer of skin, use your boning knife to score a small incision where you are going to peel and slowly begin to cut through the spent skin. Remove the skin from the whole thigh if it needs to be eaten quickly or peel it part at a time if you want to eat your ham little by little.

Remove the fat around the Spanish ham

The next thing you will need to do is remove the layer of fat immediately under the skin of your Spanish ham. Using your ham carving knife, cut the fat evenly. Make sure you keep some of the fat cuts, you can cover the parts of your ham that aren't cut later. This will allow you to preserve your ham as well as possible.

Cut the meat from the ham

Now that you have prepared your Iberian ham thigh, you can start cutting it into thin slices. Make sure to trim each slice in the same direction and use tongs if desired to pull the slices out as they begin to pull away from the body of the ham.

 

The slices can be continuously parallel to each other, following the contours of the ham. The slices must be as thin as possible, as transparent as possible.  

 

You can then place your slices of Iberian ham on a plate or tray, inserting them in a single layer that overlaps slightly.
Let your slices of Iberian ham come to room temperature to taste them.

Preserve the rest of your ham

If you haven't cut all your ham, you can replace the pieces of fat on the uncovered pieces of meat.
The fat thus replaced will prevent your ham from drying out too quickly.

You can also see our article dedicated to the conservation of ham .

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