Jambon de Lacaune

Appearance & taste

The ham is rounded, full and regular in shape and tapers towards the foot. The rind is amber-coloured with some darker tones, and the surface may be dusted with salt crystals. The meat may be covered with a thin creamy-white layer of fat.

The slices are uniform in size and shape. The lean meat is uniformly deep to dark red and may be slightly marbled; the firm layer of fat is white to pink and about 1 to 2 cm thick. The ham is soft and tender and melts in the mouth. It tastes noticeably but not obtrusively salty, “mildly salty”, and smells and tastes of matured dried meat. The spice mixture of pepper, sugar and saltpetre is subtle and does not mask the taste of the ham. It is sold whole with or without the bone, as a half or quarter ham or sliced.

Production

At the start of fattening the pigs weigh more than 25 kg, and they are given feed consisting of at least 60 % cereals, cereal products and grain legumes. The fresh hams may not be frozen, weigh at least 9 kg and have a white, firm fat layer of at least 10 mm. They are trimmed round, the aitchbone is partly removed and the foot is cut off.

They are salted only with dry sea salt, whose irregular crystals adhere well and penetrate the meat quickly; this makes even drying easier. The spice mixture consists mainly of pepper, and the only additive is saltpetre. Based on the condition of the hams, the salter decides the duration, temperature and humidity for salting, resting, warming where applicable, drying, coating with lard and ripening. The drying room is checked daily; the producer must adapt to the changing outside air. The minimum time the ham ripens from salting until it leaves the drying room depends on its weight: 7 months from 9 kg, 9 months from 10 kg, 12 months from 11 kg. From salting to the end of ripening it stays in the production area.

Origin & history

The area comprises eleven municipalities in the Tarn department: Barre, Berlats, Escroux, Espérausses, Gijounet, Lacaune, Moulin Mage, Murat-sur-Vèbre, Nages, Senaux and Viane. It is a basin running from east to west in the Lacaune mountains, the catchment area of the Gijou, enclosed by ridges rising to over 1,200 m. Oceanic, Mediterranean and mountain climates interact: rainfall is high and evenly spread over the year, temperatures are rather low, and changing winds make temperature and humidity fluctuate strongly within a single day.

The history of the ham goes back to the trade of the “mazelier”, widespread in Lacaune in the Middle Ages, which in Occitan meant someone who slaughtered cattle, sheep and pigs. From about the 15th century, the word referred to the pork processor. A dense network of salting businesses grew up in the area, and their knowledge was passed down from generation to generation. Salting with sea salt goes back to the old trade with the salt-producing areas on the Mediterranean. As early as the beginning of the 20th century, the charcuterie and hams from Lacaune were praised in a gastronomic travel guide.