My strongest memories of Spain have always been food & wine – tapas with friends and family, wine tastings and discoveries of new desserts.  So it’s not a surprise when I saw the “Iberico Ham Experience” on Airbnb Experience, I was intrigued.  I love Iberian ham but what was there to learn?  A lot apparently.  At home, the type of ham you buy likely doesn’t matter at the deli – ham is ham right?  In Spain, ham is not ham, ham (jamon)  is an art form.

I arrived a few minutes early to the shop which was a quick walk from the Aloft Madrid and the main street of Gran Via Street. I was welcomed by Alberto, the third generation owner of Lopez Pascual, the Iberico Jamon shop.  The chairs were set up around the counter and a small barrel table. Our group of six consisted of a couple from San Francisco, a couple from Cincinnati, a Greek man who lives in Boston and me.  I was definitely the outlier in age, closer to Alberto than the five who were under thirty years old.  Age didn’t matter when we shared a love of ham and wine.  Wine was free flowing throughout the ham experience.

The ham experience was scheduled for 1.5 hours but Alberto’s stories and the many rounds of tastings pushed this close to 2 hours so give yourself some extra time if you are booking dinner after your ham experience.

Alberto began with pictures of pigs and small toy versions to explain the differences in the pig breed as well as those who roam freely to eat only acorns (i.e. the more expensive ham option).  He has traveled the world to talk about Iberian Ham and competed in contests which he won (I didn’t know there was an award for slicing a perfectly weighed portion without using a scale).

Iberian Ham Experience in Madrid

We started with wine, always a good start to any food tour and tasting.  The Rioja accompanied a basket of crackers. Alberto simultaneously told animated personal stories as he hand sliced the ham onto six plates. We would start at the beginning, the ham with the white tag before moving to the black tagged ham.  When you walk into a shop like this, you will see the hams hanging on the wall over a drip tray to collect the fat. Alberto will ask the weight you wish to buy and the type of ham.  Once that is decided, he will hand slice your order into the familiar thin sheets of ham.

We learned that he has relationships built over three generations of his family and buys the ham years in advance.  He then stores the ham to age/salt cure.  We would taste ham that was aged for four years, 2018 was a good year!

The subtle differences were easily noticed once we learned more about the different varieties, techniques and lifestyles.  Had I been in a restaurant eating plates of ham as one does in Spain, I wouldn’t have noticed the difference other than the price so the small venue tasting and education was definitely helpful for the senses.

I don’t want to give away all of Alberto’s secrets but suffice to say we worked our way up to the expensive ham that is raised to eat acorns only. We laughed at the stories of truffles and were easily pulled into Alberto’s world of ham, travels with his dog and a truffle hunting pig.

I easily made a meal from the three ham tasting trays along with the breadsticks and wine.  Alberto was full of surprising stories and had one last surprise to share – a bonus tasting plate with chorizo, pork shoulder and ox meats.  While I was a bit skeptical about the ox meat, but that was my favorite. Your palate will be happy now that you are highly attuned to the flavors.  When the tastings were over and Alberto had shared his last story, we stood up all full of ham – so much ham.

Madrid’s Oldest Ham Shop

Don’t leave so fast!  You are standing inside Madrid’s oldest ham shop, established in 1919!  Peruse the shelves for delicacies to pair with your Iberico Ham.  Fresh cheeses, local wine and so much more.  Make your own picnic, tapas or just indulge in ham and wine.  One couple was traveling by train the next day so bought ham for their journey, another couple bought wine and ham for a late night snack.  You can buy freshly sliced or pre-sliced and packaged portions.

If you are unable to attend Alberto’s ham tasting in Madrid, you can visit his shop at 3 Corredera Baja de San Pablo Street  to shop or eat as he has a limited snack menu with a few seats in house.

Unique Madrid Food Tour – Iberico Ham Experience

Alberto offers the class on Tuesday and Thursdays at 8 pm (or 8:30pm) and has limited space so definitely sign up early via Airbnb Experiences to secure your spot. Classes are offered in English and Spainish and you can book a private group.  The fee was $57 which is a good price in my opinion given the amount of food and wine you are served and the fees he pays to Airbnb.   Since dinner times are later in Spain, I’d suggest a 10pm reservation after the class in case the stories, wine and fun go on longer than expected.  Treat Alberto’s Iberico Ham Experience as the appetizer in your Madrid dining experience.

I said my goodbyes as it was a long travel day and this was a lovely experience to jump start my visit to Spain (2 days in Madrid and 4 days in Barcelona). I would eat ham for the next week and now with a bit more insight the tastings so much more interesting.  Beware if you suddenly become a bit of a ham snob, preferring the 10% of high end acorn fed options.  That said, high end is expensive so it’s ok to indulge in all varieties of Iberian ham during your visit to Spain.  Just like wine, there’s a time and place for the fancy stuff vs. the day to day versions.

The Iberian Ham Experience in Madrid was such a unique and tasty food tour experience. It felt good learning more about the history of ham while also supporting the generations of food artisans who are running small businesses. It doesn’t get any more local than that.