I knew Americans were smuggling in unpasteurized European cheeses; I didn’t know they were sneaking in Spanish ham. From WSJ.com – Despite U.S. Clamor, These Little Piggies Stay Home in Spain:
It’s against the law to import jamon iberico because Spain doesn’t have a single slaughterhouse certified by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Still, the ham ranks as a national treasure in its home country, on a par with Italy’s truffles and Russia’s caviar. Rows of ibericos — swaddled in yellow fat, crusted with a thin film of protective mold and sporting occasional strands of wiry black pig hair — dangle from restaurant ceilings nationwide, with hoofs still attached.
Yeah, sounds delicious…
The only Spanish meat products exported to the U.S. now are made from animals slaughtered at USDA-certified plants outside Spain. That includes jamon serrano, a less prestigious ham that is similar to Italian prosciutto.That’s when the USDA’s zeal for regulation collided with the Spanish passion for tradition. Jamon iberico is produced in just one region of Spain, mostly by small producers who adhere strictly to time-tested methods. They use only one breed of swine, a black-hoofed Iberian pig indigenous to southwest Spain’s Mediterranean forest ecosystem — where today they still range freely, fattening themselves up on grass, roots and mushrooms.
And acorns. The most desirable hams — about 15% of production — come from the pigs that eat as much as 2,000 pounds of acorns in the two or three months before their slaughter. After butchering, the hams are rubbed with salt and then hung to cure for one to three years.