Parthemores in Poland

Before our friends from Portugal came for a visit, they made the mistake of asking if we wanted them to bring anything.

“Yeah, how about one of those Iberian ham legs?” I asked, jokingly.  I’d seen them hanging in the stores in Lisbon, and a few restaurants here have them on display, all tucked in under a dish towel.  

You can imagine my surprise when they busted out a 6-kilo (13+ lb) ham leg out of their luggage.  I’m sure security got a laugh out of that one.

Soon the ham leg had a new best friend:

We had a nice ham and appetizers party to spread the love.  Every so often, we would carve off some slices for sandwiches, or omelets, or just for eating.  The thing was seriously delicious. 

Finally it was time to get the last of the meat off the bone, so we cut it down as best we could

Lucky for Daisy, this coincided with her birthday, so she got to do some nibbling for a few minutes. 

While she’s no match for the honey badger, the claws do bear some resemblance.

But the time came to take it away…

We were seriously impressed that a cured ham leg could remain so tasty even while sitting on top of the fridge for three months.  If you know anyone in Portugal who is willing to smuggle one through customs, we highly recommend it!