My first whole Serano ham! How to prepare, slice and store.

Hi Steemers,
So the weather is rubbish, I'm recovering from tendonosis and its almost Christmas. The end result being no riding for me :(

So what better way to cheer myself up but to unwrap this amazing leg of Serrano ham i received as a gift!

I was also lucky enough to receive a stand for it as well which i must admit i was looking forward to putting together as well haha.

I know its bad to admit but us men do like to build things :)

It went together pretty easily, if a bit fiddly underneath to secure it all.

The final result is very sturdy!

Pretty good job really as this leg is pretty heavy!

Looks impressive i think you will agree

Ok now to carve!

You have to first find where the bone stops and the muscle starts.

Then carve a straight line down.

Now cut horizontally across to remove the fat and expose the meat.

I actually cut a bit high and didn't clear the bone so i adjusted and repeated the process lower down.

Remember to keep the big chunks of fat for once you are done. We will use these to seal the ham for storing.

Next make sure to cut back the outside of the meat where you wish to cut. It should be fine but a little off the sides makes sure not to get anything bad.

Now to slice the meat :) make sure to try and get it as thin as possible. You can do this by angling the knife upwards slightly after making the initial cut.

As thin as i could manage, not bad i think for my first try!

Keep cutting strips until you have enough. If you keep the cuts neat and even it really helps keeping down waste and also makes cutting the next slice a lot easier.

Once you have cut enough take the big pieces of fat you saved from the start and cover up the exposed meat. It will stop any surface mold or anything bad growing. Don't worry if you cant do this, it just means you would need to cut the top slices off and and bin them when you cut your next batch.

Once you have put the fat in place simply cover with a cloth and leave out of direct sunlight

So there we go! The fruits of our labor! Now to sit back with a nice glass of red and enjoy :)