I'm so excited! I just bought a whole Serrano ham (by Navidul) at Jungle Jim's in Cincinnati for $16/lb. Thought I could give my knives a good sharpening and go to town, but this is more difficult than I thought.

Can someone please give me advice on a shaver/slicer that I can buy in the states to use on the jamon? I know you shouldn't use a serrated knive, but are all electric shavers serrated and is that okay? which one will work? Would like to stay around $100 or so. I must cut into this thing soon!

Kathi

P.S. Anyone near Chicago, there is a great little wine shop around the corner from the Four Seasons Hotel that also sells Serrano and it's inexpensive.

Try using two hands on the knife (one on each end, very carefully) when slicing. I get the chance to slice ham in Madrid from time to time and I find that it helps. My friends laugh, but it is a small price to pay for the results.

BTW, I am a professional chef who cuts a lot of meat and I can't get the slices right all the time either! Experience pays off, keep trying!

Be very careful with the knife and try not to force it if it gets hooked in the ham.

The best way to cut ham is in very very thinly slices. Use the outter fat to cover the ham after you cut what you want.

Use a long and sharp knife.

Fernando

I have the long knife, and I sharpened it... and I even put two hands on it, but it's not thin enough. I've been looking at the "vintage manual meat slicers" on ebay. Also noticed the electric ones shave down to 1/16" slices. Will these work?

Tired of chewing on shoe leather pieces (but it's STILL good!)

We just got a leg of ham too! One of my roomates came home from visiting her parents for the weekend and thats what she came home with. In the states the only place I know of to get an authentic ham knife is at www.tienda.com. They are located in the US and ship everywhere. I think the key is that it is somewhat flexible.
Enjoy!
j.

try a fillet knife...long thin blade...flexible...i have a ground-down chef's knife that i've been using for years and it works great...

I just discovered a website that you may find helpful for cutting, storage etc. We looked at it to make sure we were cutting the ham right too...
http://www.spanishhampers.co.uk/haminfo.html
j.

I've longed to acquire a serrano ham at a good price, but I've hesitated because of the preparations I'd need to make. Anyway, hats off to you for your bravery, and good luck!

Here's a very comprehensive page about carving & storing your ham:
http://www.spanishhampers.co.uk/haminfo.html

This looks like a ham knife you can buy in the states:
http://www.galasource.com/...

Of course this doesn't solve the problem of obtaining a ham clamp...

By coincidence, I stayed with a family in Sevilla, and the father there was filmed demonstrating proper ham carving technique. He seemed to go at with a gentle touch, which probably provided the paper-thin slices.

You're never going to make it using an electric knife and much less a serrated one.

Besides a knife which is thin and flexible, it has to be very very sharp, that the only way you will ever achieve paper thin slices.

Ok, I'm going to get poetic here, but I look at it like if I was playing the violin. The movements have to graceful, steady and deliberate. Just like a violin player uses his bow to make music, I don't think you'll ever see them start to hit, smash, slam the bow around on the instrument, and neither should you treat your ham leg like if it was some type of log that you have to saw through (you can do that with the bone, to make a great broth).

When the knife is well sharpened, just by laying the blade flatly on the meat and pressing down gently just a little and moving the knife with long strokes left to right while you push the blade forward you should get better slices with a little practice.

If your going to purchase a knife, make sure to also buy a sharpening stone or some type of sharpening tool, the key is to make sure your knife is very sharp.

I follow up on Mongos comments, I've been cutting ham since I was a kid, and still there are plenty of times, you just can't get it right, so don't worry about it too much and just enjoy your jamon

I'm still practicing every day, it's just an excuse to eat ham, but I practice.

Even sometimes, I cut them too thick on purpose and chop them up and put them in an omolette or with peas, green beans or on a pizza.mmmmmm

Albert, Ugh! you make it sound much easier than it is. My slices are embarrassing. I have a sharpener, but still no success. I need a "vice" to hold that sucker in place (I bought boneless) and even then I have to work at it. It's a good thing my husband is forgiving. He just eats those big ole slices like beef jerkey! I would buy a new knife if I thought it would make a difference, but I think the "operator" is faulty.