Just thought I would take a few minutes to come back to you on the samples we received last week.  Firstly - The Orce Fire Chorizo is just superb. The best Hot Chorizo I have ever tasted to be honest, as the heat is just right so as not to overpower the taste of the Chorizo itself but just enough to leave that tingle in your mouth. I have always had an issue with the Chorizos we have bought before that are labelled as picante because the heat has never been that significant and that has always been the feedback from our customers. 

The Iberico Bellota went down very well with our customers yesterday and again this is a great product, tasty and melt in the mouth which stands out from the rest. The Traditional - I think this is an acquired taste, not my personal favourite but some of our customers liked it and bought some yesterday so just a personal taste really. I have just tried the sweet chorizo (with breakfast) and again this is a great flavor - I just need to try the Hot one and then we have tried them all. Overall though I think you have some fantastic products here and I am delighted that we found Orce Hams when we did as we have been looking for some time for a producer with the quality of Chorizo that you have directly in Spain”.

Nick Carter ~ “Carters Kitchen”

Hand Made Ceramics

Artesano de España is a business based in New South Wales Australia and is currently importing all of it’s products from Orce Serrano Hams. “Finding Orce Serrano Hams has been the best possible start for Artesano” says Sarah Beard. “The quality and beauty of their product range is exceptional and Iain and Gayle have been wonderfully positive about the new business and incredibly generous with their knowledge and experience, as well as sharing some of their beautiful photography for use on our website”.

“We look forward to a positive future with Orce Serrano Hams as they help us to source the Real Spain, to bring to our customers in Australia.”

Sarah Beard ~ “Artesano de España”

Iberico Bellota Ham

Food writer, author and passionate slow foodie Karen Homer taste tested some of our Iberian bellota ham. Hand sliced by the maestro secadero (ham expert) in Cordoba Karen was one of a lucky few to experience the flavour of one of the finest cured hams from the region.

“I was lucky enough to be sent some delicious Iberian ham courtesy of Orce Serrano Hams. This kind of ham does not come cheap but it is a treat worth savouring and the saltiness, the way the melting fat slides seductively down the back of your throat in warm weather makes it perfect for summer.”

Karen made up an exquisite summer salad of Borlotti Bean, Tomato and Iberian Ham Salad as featured on her blog “A Cook’s Library”. A delicious combination and very nice indeed!

Spanish ham in the UK

Carving Spanish ham? Cooking with chorizo? Here we have a selection of photographs from customers around the world, food bloggers, chefs and Spanish food enthusiasts alike. We always enjoy your photographs and reviews so if you would like to show off your ham carving skills or culinary ventures in the kitchen then don't hesitate to get in touch!

Morcilla

Irish expat Niamh (aka Eat Like a Girl) reviewed some of our home made morcilla whilst creating a rather delicious home made soda farls, morcilla and egg brunch. Niamh's acclaimed blog eatlikeagirl.com has been described as "one of the top ten food blogs from around the world" and is regularly listed in the Times, Telegraph and Independent.

"I added a Spanish twist this morning having recently had some gorgeous Spanish morcilla delivered from Orce Serrano Hams. It really is the good stuff, vacuum packed to order and couriered so that it's very fresh. This morcilla is extremely soft and almost pliable, with lots of cinnamon and walnut and onions. It can be difficult to source good morcilla like this outside of Spain, especially one so fresh, so I'll be using them again."

Fried Irish bread, Spanish black pudding, eggs and tomatoes . . . sounds and certainly looks fantastic! Read the full recipe on Niamh's blog > > >

Orce Serrano Paleta

Dedicated food lovers from Belfast Niall and Kelly purchased a front shoulder paleta for their tapas party ~ now that's what we call a good carving technique! Impressed by the ham they asked us if we would like to contribute an interview to their blog and become a "food hero", of course we simply couldn't turn down such a great invitation! Described as "awesome" the paleta certainly appeared to be a big hit - many thanks Niall and Kelly!

"When the grey skies, the stress at work, and the plummeting temperatures get us down, one of our more frequent pie-in-the-sky plans is to live somewhere exotic, and to run our own (foodie) business. It was about a month ago that we noticed that Orce Serrano Hams was following us on Twitter. I'm quite partial to a bit of charcuterie (not to mention Spanish cooking) so I visited their website to see what they were all about. And what a find it was!

Ex-pats Iain and Gayle have been living the dream: exporting Spanish delicacies from their cave-house in Granada. To top it all off, they're also extremely nice people - always ready for a chat and some friendly advice to help you enjoy and make the most of your purchases.

Trying not to get too jealous, I sat in rain-swept Northern Ireland and emailed Iain in sun-kissed Andalucia to learn a little more about Orce Serrano Hams . . . read more

After a few quick emails we had our centre-piece - a whole fore-leg of Serrano ham! The tapas night was great . . . and the Serrano ham from Orce was awesome!"

Niall and Kelly - Chilliandchocolate.com

Iberico Paleta and Sobrasada

Chef Jim Fisher who runs legendary cooking holiday experience "Cook in France" in the Dordogne speaks about his acorn fed Iberian bellota shoulder and also that little known Mallorcan sausage "Sobrasada". Make no mistake Jim knows his stuff in the kitchen and we were most impressed at a delicious looking Sobrasada on Toasted Baguette with Grilled Goats Cheese as well as a genuine enthusiasm for a good Iberian ham.

"The scariest cut of all! Knowing that this was a moment to savour, my hand literally trembled on this, the most expensive of their Serrano and Iberico hams as I cut that first slice! But, armed with Iain's excellent instructions - and super-sharp ham knife - I couldn't go wrong as I sliced off wafer thin sheets of mahogany coloured meat. So, what did it taste like? Well, divine, of course! Deep, rich and heavily scented with nutty undertones, it was the most tender, delicate and distinctive hams I'd ever eaten. And that was also the view of our lucky guests, who unanimously declared Serrano and Iberico ham to be food of the Gods!"

Chef Jim Fisher

Orce Fire Chorizo

"The first pack that arrived contained a mix of ham, sausage and chorizo all of which looked and smelled absolutely fantastic, the same was true for the fire chorizo, although it had the unmistakable smell and colour of the added chilli."

"The result was nothing short of spectacular, the tomato and chorizo salad was sublime, the chorizo being the star of the show, it was packed full of flavour, lovely and soft and had a fantastic chilli heat to it, which was mellowed out by a nice smokey flavour in the background. You could tell the quality of it as soon as it hit the pan, it smelled fantastic and unlike the cheap chorizo you get in the shops it didn't start spitting and I didn't find my self having to drain lots of excess fat from the pan. It had just the right balance of spice and seasoning along with just enough fat to keep it moist and delicious."

"The other meats I served up with it were fab too, especially the ham, I couldn't get enough of it, it worked really well with the salty, creamy goats cheese. Absolutely spot on."

~ Many thanks to Andy. Now that's what we call a real flavour of Spain!

Orce Fire Chorizo

"Their food is incredible and as a huge fan of chorizo, their own version is streets ahead of anything that I have tasted. The Orce Fire Chorizo is packed with intense paprika and cayenne heat. Rather that slice it and eat it as a tapas with a cold beer, I thought I would use it in a rustic soup, packed full of garlic, smoked paprika and crunchy cabbage and of course, chorizo sausage."

David also received a sample of Orce ham reserva and created an exquisite squid, ham and samphire salad:

"Iain and Gayle at Orce Serrano Hams recently sent me some of their amazing 16 month aged serrano ham. It is seriously good, everything you would expect from a quality meat. I might be biased being a fellow Geordie but I beg you to get some ordered. You will not regret it."

"I want to congratulate Iain and Gayle for doing something that I'm sure most of us only wish we could do but never dare. They have taken risks to follow a passion and a dream and by the looks of the reviews I have seen, it is going places."

David's Squid, Ham and Samphire Salad > > >

Food writer and educator David Hall

Orce Serrano Ham

"Tengo una cueva en las afueras del pueblo de Orce que uso como casa de vacaciones. Cada vez que bajo a mi cueva compro un jamon de Iain y Gayle. Los jamones de Orce son unos de los mejores de la zona y tienen un sabor distinto en comparación con otras marcas conocidas. Me llevo siempre el jamon a Barcelona para disfrutar con mi familia y mis amigos. Como enamorada del jamon español, el jamon que compro de Orce Serrano Hams que tiene una muy buena relación calidad-precio es el jamon perfecto para servir como tapas y también para cocinar en recetas españolas."

Montserrat Capdevilla

Orce Serrano Ham Reserva

Mike from Surrey purchased a front leg paleta first then went big with a full rear "jamon" ~ 10/10 for great carving!

Mike's blog post entitled "Moving forward with hind legs" described the Orce Reserva ham as "Sweet, fragrant, honey like, soft, moist and tender, just perfect!" Muchas Gracias! Mike.

Orce Fire Chorizo

Food blogger Danny (aka Food Urchin) reviewed <click here> some of the Orce "Fire" Chorizo which immediately went to good use.

Performing a chorizo showdown in the kitchen Danny created some inspirational recipes with real Spanish flair:

• Sauteed Charlotte Potatoes with Green Beans
• Chorizo and Poached Egg
• Scrambled Eggs with Chorizo, Red Onion, Garlic, Chilli and Coriander
• . . . and our very own Warming Winters Brunch.

Delicious!

Krimo Bouabda , Casa del Mar

Orce Serrano Ham / Orce Fire Chorizo ~ I fell in love with tapas on my numerous trips to Spain and so in 2006 I decided to open Casa del Mar Tapas Bar on Hartlepool Marina. It has become very busy especially on sunny summer evenings. All around the Mediterranean cooks insist on using the freshest ingredients and cooking them simply to get the best out of their flavours.

Iain McDonald of Orce Serrano Hams in Spain asked me to write a review of a few of the items he sells online.

I have "known" Iain since 2005 through his Cave Renovator blog. He originally hails from Northumberland but upped sticks and settled in a cave dwelling in Andalucía with his wife and son. He renovated his own cave and blogged the transformation as it happened. He subsequently started an online Spanish food store.

The website is loaded with goodies, from Serrano Hams to Chorizos, wines, olives and all sorts of implements to produce great Spanish food. It is also a very user friendly website where one can find out about the people behind Orce Serrano Hams, where they source their products and most of all how they use them. The recipe section is one of the best Spanish cookery sites I have ever come across.

The parcel arrived on the day he had promised. It was with trepidation that I opened it. Inside was a tub of Pinchitos Kebab Seasoning and two vacuum packs; one full of freshly sliced Serrano ham and the other one held three Spicy Chorizo sausages.

The Serrano ham was fresh, moist and full of flavour with a thin layer of white fat. It had been sliced just a little thicker than vacuum-packed supermarket Parma ham. I used three slices to wrap a large chicken supreme which I had first filled with a few slices of Chorizo and a spoonful of grated cheese.

I browned the chicken in a frying pan for three minutes and then baked it for a further fifteen minutes. When sliced, the chicken oozed with melted cheese and Chorizo juices.

I made a simple dish of chickpeas, sweet peppers and chorizo in a tomato sauce flavoured with the Pinchitos seasoning.

On another occasion I pan fried a few slices of chicken with Chorizo and served them with Spaghetti in a creamy tomato sauce. I really liked the way the chicken acquired the flavour and some of the colour of the Chorizo.

The Orce Fire Chorizo was deliciously hot and spicy and yet, it had a subtle sweetness about it.

I must confess that, although I have spent quite some time in Spain and think very highly of Spanish delicacies, I have never tasted a better Chorizo than the one I received from Iain.

Both Chorizo and Serrano Ham were of the highest quality and freshness only found in village butchers.

	Chicken with Chorizo and Cheese 2 chicken breasts 1 oz Chorizo cut into pieces 4 tbsp grated cheese 6 slices of Parma or Serrano ham Slice the breasts in two flat pieces Lay 3 slices of ham overlapping Place one slice of chicken on top Top with cheese and Chorizo Cover with the other slice of chicken Wrap the ham around the chicken Secure with 3 cocktail sticks Repeat Seal on all sides in a hot frying pan Place in a pre-heated oven (200°C) Bake for 15 minutes Serve with light tomato sauce
	Chorizo al vino tinto Sliced Chorizo Olive oil Red wine Heat an iron frying pan Add 2 tbsp olive oil Sauté slices of Chorizo for two minutes on a moderate heat until the sausage looks crispy Add a small glassful of red wine and simmer for a further minute Serve immediately

Professional Ham Support

Aster from Singapore showing off some exceptional talent in the ham carving department!

Aster requested one of our Pro1 ham stands shipped over in 2007 - our first shipment to the far East.

"We received the ham stand on Monday and the whole family was delighted".