Iberian pork leg hoof fetish @ Estudio

UnoMas was the first place that I tried Spanish food, ever since then I have liked Spanish food.

When I saw the squid ink being served, I knew I had to give it a try someday.
I finally went on a day when there were less people.

Estudio is like an open kitchen located in a chic international supermarket with high swivel stools.

cooking area

 

chef cutting the jamon

 

The seats are level with the chefs, waitresses and the kitchen, everything can be seen right in front of your eyes such as cutting of the ham and the chefs cooking.
The joint can seat about 12 people.

seating area

 

It was fun sitting in the hustle and bustle of lunch hour, watching people in a rush, queuing to pay at the supermarket tills, eating at Triple Os.

Anyway, I ordered the SQUID COOKED WITH SQUID INK and EGGS COOKED WITH BLACK MORCILLA FROM BURGOS & PIQUILLO.
I wanted to try the Bravas Patatas but I already tried that at UnoMas.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

scrambled egg n blackpudding

 

EGGS COOKED WITH BLACK MORCILLA FROM BURGOS & PIQUILLO
The eggs cooked with black morcilla was the first to arrive. It was basically scrambled eggs with black pudding sausage and skinned peppers.
There was a metal holder put on the plate before serving, the scrambled egg took form of a cake shape when served.
I thought that was quite good, because scrambled eggs usually look like a pile when served.
The taste and texture of the scrambled egg was delicious, money well spent, it tasted even better than the ones at ADC and Star Cafe because it wasn’t buttery or greasy.
Although the taste of the black pudding was faint, the whole dish was yummy, the texture of the egg was so light and the scrambled egg was like droplets of cooked eggs forming in one mass.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

squid in ink sauce

 

SQUID COOKED WITH SQUID INK
I was amazed how tender and soft the squid was. Inside the squid, it was stuffed with its own tentacles. I wish I had taken a picture, but anyway there were lots of tentacles stuffed inside.
The sauce was slightly too sweet for my liking, but was nice for dipping the bread.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

5j ham from the chef

 

5j jamon worth $19000

 

 

It just so happens that where I was sitting, the 5J Iberian ham was sliced right in front of me, the chef kindly gave me a piece to try, and said that it was the most expensive item they served. The leg of ham hung in the cupboard was worth HKD$19000.
The piece of ham I tried was nice and tender, slightly waxy and oily, however I didn’t eat the fat.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Anyway, I wasn’t that full, so ordered the 5J JAMON AND BECHAMEL CROQUETTES

bechamel cheese croqueta

 

5J JAMON AND BECHAMEL CROQUETTES
The coating of the croquette was nice and crispy, and not too oily. Inside the croquette, the béchamel cheese was liquid. There was lots of ham inside.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

More about Jamón ibérico:
Jamón ibérico is ham from black Iberian pigs, that thrive, snuffling on the dusty ground for sweet acorns (bellota) fallen from the trees.
These fat pigs with slender legs are known simply as "pata negra" because of their trademark black hooves.
There are four grades of jamón ibérico, categorised primarily by the diet of the pigs. The curing process remains the same, but the length for which they are aged will differ with the lower grade hams receiving little more than a year of hanging and the very best up to four years.

The age difference can be seen in the finished result with the flesh of the younger hams having a lighter pink colour and those of older hams being a deep, ruby red. The taste too is very different with the acorn richness of the jamón ibérico de bellota lingering on the palate like a fine wine.

The ham served at Estudio was bellota grade, there was a label attached to the ham showing its grade.

black hoof

 

info tag

 

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

GRADING STATUS:

Jamón ibérico de bellota
From pure Iberico pigs fed on a diet of acorns during the Montanera and granted DO status. These hams are aged for at least three years before being released and often labelled 'reserva' and 'gran reserva' to denote their age.

Jamón ibérico de recebo
Fed on a diet of cereals and acorns and aged for at least three years.

Jamón ibérico cebo de campo
Free range, but fed only on a diet of cereals.

Jamón ibérico de cebo
Commercially reared pigs fed on a diet of cereals.

5J is also known as cinjo jotas. There is a website for 5J products at http://www.cincojotas.com/index-english.htm
Amusingly the website has chinese, so the Chinese are probably big customers of 5J!!

The carving of the ham was interesting, carving it into thin slices, although it is probably best carved by hand, it reminded me of Microtomy and cryosectioning because of the waxy texture of the ham

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

When I got the bill, I felt I was in Europe, the typical European handwriting, especially how they write their "1"s, "4"s and "7"sand being addressed senorita (Miss)

european handwriting (numbers)

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++