It has been a long wait to finally get to slice into the first Serrano ham that has been hanging down in the workshop for the last 12 months. If you remember it all started with 30 odd days in a box of salt and then has been hanging mainly out in the open air .A couple of week ago I took them in from the workshop and hung them in the kitchen as it was getting a little damp down there with all the rain and the cooler nights.On Sunday I decided to crack the oldest one open.It's probably been the most excited I've been in a long time as its been a project that's taken over a year and the thought of them rotting or not working was always a risk. And not to mention wasting two perfectly good hams from our first pigs.The first slice into the unknown...Cutting down through the layer of fat to get to the meat...Finally get into the ham and it smells and tastes pretty good!A perfect starter to any meal. Serrano ham , manchego cheese and a nice glass of Rioja... Some previous posts that follow the journey of making these Spanish style air dried Serrano hams:www.ollysfarm.com/2015/07/the-hams-appear-to-be-doing-well-so-far-not-long-left-to-try-themwww.ollysfarm.com/2015/01/second-ham-salt-now-just-need-wait-9-12-monthswww.ollysfarm.com/2014/12/second-serano-hamwww.ollysfarm.com/2014/11/air-dried-ham-xmas-ham-updatewww.ollysfarm.com/2014/11/ham-in-the-fridgewww.ollysfarm.com/2014/10/jamon-serranowww.ollysfarm.com/2014/09/jamon-serrano-2