back to article Selfridges punts £1,800 Spanish ham

Selfridges is inviting customers with discerning palates and deep pockets to cough £1,800 for an authentic jamón ibérico puro originally belonging to an acorn-fed Spanish porker. The exclusive Albarragena ham The Albarragena ham (pictured), selected by expert Manuel Maldonado, hails from Extremadura, where pampered pigs roam …

COMMENTS

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  1. nigel 15
    IT Angle

    Am i reading the Daily Shopper

    I traditionally get my pork news elsewhere.

    Next thing my porcine periodical will be doing IT news.

    1. Emilio Desalvo
      Pint

      The IT angle?

      There is nothing more ITish than a ham sandwich, during a long compilation.

      And if you are not interested in ham, beware of SPAM!

      Now I need a beer, to wash down my sandwich...

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Paris Hilton

    How much?!

    No thanks, I'll stick to Tesco Value range :D

  3. Cynical Observer
    Coat

    Pull the other one!

    It's got bells on it.

  4. Anonymous Hero
    Stop

    That's a bargain...

    Compared to £4700.00/kilo for saffron in Tesco Online that looks like a decent price!

    1. ScientologyIsACult
      FAIL

      That's Cheap

      good saffron's twice that price

  5. Natalie Gritpants

    It's true

    It is amazing value. Amazingly bad.

  6. John Latham

    Leg pulling

    Right tasty it is too, but you'd probably die of heart failure before finishing the leg.

    Is there a Reg unit for expensiveness? Probably works out the same as a couple of iPhones on contract for a year.

  7. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Thank goodness for the banking bailout

    Otherwise there wouldn't be a supply of gullible morons with huge bonuses to buy a bit of dried up pork.

  8. TeeCee Gold badge
    IT Angle

    1800 quid???!!!?????!

    Does it run Crysis?

  9. Stone Fox
    Unhappy

    Am I the only one....

    Who finds the idea of eating three year old meat un-appealing?

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      well

      3-5 year old duck eggs fetauer in chinese cuisine, you should try them.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Unhappy

        eeew

        > fetauer in chinese cuisine,

        For a moment I thought you said "foetus".

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Thumb Down

      I guess...

      ... you don't really get "curing" and "preserving", do you? Take everyone else's word for it; it does work. I'm sure the stuff tastes lovely. Why, what were you thinking? People go around paying thousands of pounds for a lump of poisonous rotting meat that tastes like filth?

      http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2009/12/14/

    3. Mike 102
      Flame

      its just you

      I'm pretty sure you're not the only one but then again most people haven't a clue about where their food comes from or how long it's been cured/aged before they eat it. Ignorance is bliss as they say..

  10. Andy ORourke
    Joke

    What's the shelf life?

    I mean it has been hung and cured for 3 years, what is the "elf n Safety" use by date going to be on that?

  11. Pete 2 Silver badge

    two legged pigs?

    Hang on a sec. On Selfridges website, it says the farmer selected 50 pigs. Here we have 100 hams up for grabs. I make that 2 hams per pig. Last time I looked, which admittedly was a while back, pigs had 4 legs - so what's happened to the rest of them. Did they just lop a couple of legs off each pig, in the hope that it would be able to balance it's way through life on the remaining 2 - or have they learned to walk upright - or what.

    The ham-buying public demand to know!

    1. Slartybardfast

      They only use the back legs

      The title says it all

      1. Mike 102
        Happy

        not true...

        they also use the front legs but they are considerable smaller and are sold differently....

    2. Peter Sommer
      Thumb Up

      Jamon Iberico

      I've had one-year-old ham made on the same basis - you can buy it in 100 gm slivers as opposed to a whole leg. And it really does have a wonderful taste; like fine wine you get an initial hit and then quite a long and different after-taste. You can buy affordable portions at good Spanish delis.

      1. bygjohn
        Thumb Up

        Sources

        Also at Waitrose. And I agree it's yummy.

    3. alan smith 3
      Happy

      Pigs only have 2 legs

      Pete 2, im afraid to tell you selfridges are right on this one. Although pigs have 4 feet, they do infact only have 2 legs. The back legs are connected to the ham, with the front arms are connected to the pigs shoulders.

    4. Andrew Culpeck
      Happy

      bad joke

      With a pig that expensive you would not eat it all at once

  12. Liam Johnson

    melt-in-the-mouth texture

    I always prefer the chewy crusty bits on the outside.

    1. Mike 102
      Linux

      you don't

      You don't get crusty bits on the outside... they are covered in fat and it tends to be soft... and probably slightly mooldy looking...

      penguin as the eskimos bury them in the ground for six months before they eat them... or is that seals???

      1. Emilio Desalvo
        Linux

        Penguins...

        "penguin as the eskimos bury them in the ground for six months before they eat them..."

        Only Antarctic Eskimos.

  13. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    This isn't just a rip of it's a selfridges rip off...

    I found it for sale online for £360...So...anyone want to buy a jamón ibérico puro for just £1000? save £800...Bargin..

  14. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    get the ketchup right

    Sounds good. To get the best results you'd need to use proper Heinz ketchup with it and not a cheap supermarket own brand. Branston Pickle might work well with it also.

  15. Anonymous Coward
    Happy

    >wrapped in an apron made by one of Spain's most exclusive tailors

    "I want fifteen Emperor Lobsters, man. And I want them all wearing little knitted waist-coats... in Prussian Blue."

  16. Anonymous Coward
    IT Angle

    To add an IT angle...

    Well, my HP ink would cost me £1650 a kilo based on the last purchase and that hasn't even been roaming around in it's own ten hectares and I'm pretty certain it tastes a lot worse.

  17. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    @ Pete2 and DNA...

    Pete2 = "hams" come from the rear end and all pigs, even (most of ??) those from Norfolk have only 2 legs - read up on "culatello"

    this ham also comes from 100% Iberian pigs whch are DNA tested - another way of saying you're buying "incest ham" - look what happened when they kept dog breeds pure - can you imagine what happens the ham... maybe they have those fine 3 rear-legged pigs..

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Coat

      "culatello"

      That'll be meat from the arse-end of the pig, yes?

  18. Neil Barnes Silver badge
    Coat

    Somewhere in Spain, there are pigs with three legs wandering around...

    I mean, there must be. You don't eat a pig as good as that all at once!

    Why thank you! Yes, the one with mustard in the pocket, thanks.

  19. Michael H.F. Wilkinson Silver badge
    IT Angle

    And then I thought pata negra ham is expensive

    At 60 EUR/kg it is cheap compared to this 220/kg (and I am being generous about 7kg ham having 6 kg meat).

    HANG ON the IT angle is:

    Pentium floating point divide error!!

    1. Vincent Ballard

      Tailored

      All jamón ibérico comes from pata negra pigs reared on a diet of acorns. The main distinguishing features here are the tailor-made wrapping and the price, which in some people's eyes automatically confers quality.

  20. Jamie Kitson

    Not That Pricey

    Those legs are never cheap, the sandwich shop down the road often has them, his cost him £400.

    1. LinkOfHyrule
      Joke

      In that case

      In that case, your sandwich shop's legs probably play 'Tesco Value' to the Selfridges 'Tesco Finest' pig legs.

      £1,800 isn't expensive after all then, for the pig leg connoisseur, clearly!

  21. Thomas 4

    Legs, shmegs....

    Can you make a decent bacon sarnie from the prized porcine?

  22. Anonymous Coward
    Alert

    No pork crackling???

    It's much easier to sell expensive stuff to the inebriated after all.

  23. SimpleUser
    Grenade

    as long as there are

    People starving to death, to me this is an obscene offer.

    1. Pigeon

      Re: obscene

      At least these pigs ate acorns, which are inedible by people. Your cheaper porkers will be fed food which could have fed more people. And the pigs are free range too. I'm all for animal welfare (and, sorry to admit I am a vege).

    2. Emilio Desalvo
      Alert

      Obscene...

      "People starving to death, to me this is an obscene offer."

      Not as obscene as biological food, given how much it costs when compared with normal food.

  24. Anonymous Coward
    Happy

    Re: Two-legged pigs.

    Four legs good, two legs better!

    And to anyone who asks if this ham is worth it, I guess the answer is that all ham is equal, but some is more equal than others...

  25. Dave The Cardboard Box
    Headmaster

    Blackleg!!!

    It used to be nigh on impossible to sell pork from animals fed on acorns because the flesh is a nasty black colour. Acorns are about the cheapest type of pig feed you could get. The only way they could top this leg of ham is to sell one from pigs fed exclusively on rats.

    A food connoisseur is just a wallet with a few brain cells attached.

  26. Colin Barfoot
    Happy

    I guess

    The pigs wished they had taken that left turn at Alburquerque.

  27. Matt 13
    Thumb Up

    sounds ideal...

    will go great with a bit of cathdreral City and a thick sliced hovis!

  28. Hugh G. Rection
    WTF?

    Expensive?

    Try Fortnum and Mason's Caspian Beluga Caviar at £15,000 for a 1.8kg tin.

    Yes, that's fifteen thousand pounds, but you get a lot of caviar for your money...

  29. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    "Andrew Cavanna, Selfridges's Fresh Food Buyer, "

    Since when is 3 yr old ham fresh?

  30. Manolo
    Paris Hilton

    Delicious

    While in Spain in October I bought some pata negra. It was about 29 euro's for 100 gram and absolutely worth it. Judging by the size of these hams I'd say it'd be around 1800 quid for an entire ham. I just wouldn't buy a whole one...

    Paris, because her thin slivers taste great too.

  31. Jason Yau

    Umm

    I'll stick to bacon.

  32. John Sanders
    Happy

    I have tasted one of those in spain once...

    And yes it is a delicatessen a truly unique palatal experience and that, but bear in mind that you can get it for €400 if you buy it in Spain.

    The locals buy the not so expensive ones for around €250 which are incredibly good too. The ones below €200 are not bad, but no delicacy.

    One of those Serrano ham legs will last a family of 4 for a month. You can add it to many dishes, diced or sliced, in sandwiches with sliced tomato and olive oil is a wonder.

    Problem is for people outside Spain is that you need special stand and knifes to be able to peel it properly, which is important so it doesn't get dry prematurely. And to be able to peel it properly albeit easy, requires some explaining.

    Serrano ham is something related to the culinary culture of Spain, it is also the symbol of economic well-being , a family that can not afford a Serrano ham is a poor family.

    It is also you buy may be 1 or 2 times per year, and often to celebrate something important.

    1. Vincent Ballard
      Thumb Up

      Christmas

      In particular, it's a traditional Christmas present.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Unhappy

      Oh dear

      I class as poor ! :(

      can we have a handout icon ??

  33. heyrick Silver badge
    FAIL

    I'm a non-pork eater

    No, it isn't religion based.

    I think this explains it well enough:

    http://www.ensignmessage.com/archives/porkfacts.html

    Sure you're still interested?

    FAIL for a leg of pork costing more than a fair few people take home in a month. Don't care HOW well the piggy was pampered, that's £180,000 for the (back) legs alone. Imagine how much bacon from the critter will cost!

  34. Milkfloat

    Cheap

    As others have mentioned this is not stupidly expensive (well it is too much for my wallet). This year there is a glut of ham, so prices have dropped.

  35. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    @heyrick

    But bacon sarnies are so good the morning after the night before.

  36. Fred Mbogo
    Pint

    Recipipi

    Jamon serrano and iberico are the best. I used to be a prosciutto fan but once I started buying the expensive brands of jamon, I switched.

    Here's a recipe for a decent sandwich: use panini bread, or any bread with a decent crust, add eggplant preserves (non-tomatoed), a little mayo, two sliver of jamon, a few pieces of brie cheese, some olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper. Serve Hot.

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