"There are a number of seriously delicious artisanal hams being made all over this pig-happy country of ours." That is the porcine question of the day. It all started with Italian prosciutto di Parma, progressed to Serrano ham from Spain, and then of course moved to the ne plus ultra of European ham, the black-footed (patenegra in Spanish), called Jamon Iberico. But now American artisanal ham makers are getting in on the act. Herb and Kathy Eckhouse started making extraordinary La Quercia prosciutto in Des Moines, Iowa. How extraordinary? Italian chefs in America who worship at the feet of Parma ham like Mario Batali started taking notice. Now third generation curemaster Sam Edwards working with Heritage Foods USA and Newman...
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Sky Full of Bacon's Michael Gebert posted this video of his visit to La Quercia in late May, but we haven't blogged it yet, and like all his videos, it's definitely worth watching. Says Gebert: Iowa fills the supermarkets with generic produce and meat... but a few people are trying to show that it can be capable of world-class cuisine, too. That's the mission of La Quercia, whose prosciutto made in a suburb of Des Moines has been raved about by top chefs and food writers. The video, after the jump....
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