Spanish ham

Not to brag or anything, but I’m pretty sure if you got my friends and I together, I’d know way more than them about the art of cured ham in Spain.

Jamon iberico

I ate tons of it over there during my golf trip earlier this month, and learned a little over every thin, little slice. For instance, if you walk into a cured meat shop, with all the legs hanging around everywhere, these seemingly indifferent hunks or ham all have different prices. That’s based on what kind of pig it is. The most prestigious pig is a black, Iberian pig that roams freely and eats nothing but acorns on a hillside, giving their legs the leanest meat.

siete bellotas - 7 Bellotas TM - best cured ham from Spain

Spain - Cured Hams - Jamon iberico

I learned this and plenty more on cured meats, tapas and wine over two days with Sergio Refugio, who runs Cooking Holiday Spain. He offers gastronomy tours mixed in with historical sightseeing of some of the Costa Del Sol’s most historic towns like Ronda and Malaga. If you’re headed to Spain for a golf trip, you should really only be spending half the time golfing. Jonathan Snell of Simply Golf Holidays (and partner with my friends over at London Golf Tours, who sends his golf groups to Sergio when they’re looking to learn all about Spain’s gastronomical delights, says a week’s trip often has four days of golf in it and three days off the course (stay tuned for my feature: 18 things to do off the golf course on the Costa Del Sol). On these days off, you can do anything from tours of Alhambra & other historical sights, to cooking classes, to lounging on a Mediterranean beach all day and doing absolutely nothing.

During my trip I also went from despising olives to adoring them, having them just about every time I had a drink in my hand. This is olive country after all. Olives are served just about everywhere in Spain - even when you order a simple beer.

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