Spanish Ham (Jamón)

Buying Spanish ham in the US

When you buy Spanish ham online, you are choosing a jamón: Spain's dry-cured ham, salted and slowly cured for months or years. Here you will find two families, jamón serrano (white-breed pigs) and jamón ibérico (Iberian pigs), plus hand-carved slices for when you want to eat today. Prices below are as of October 2026.

How to choose

• Serrano, aged 15 months. Bone-in legs run $219 to $279 (about $16 to $19 per lb); a boneless 4-5 lb block is $139 (refrigerated, Florida addresses only for now). Start with the Cortijo de Canata Serrano, 15-17 lb or browse Serrano ham.
• Ibérico cebo de campo. Iberian pigs raised outdoors and fed mainly on grain and legumes. Whole hams and shoulders run $399 to $599 (roughly $29 to $50 per lb). See Jamón Ibérico Cebo de Campo.
• Ibérico de bellota. Pigs finished on acorns and grass in the dehesa. Shoulders run $499 to $749 and whole legs $1,095 to $1,695. See Jamón Ibérico de Bellota.
• Hand-carved slices. Ready-to-serve packs from $14.95. See sliced ham.
• Ham with stand and knife. A whole leg packed with a ham stand and a carving knife, ready to give, from $349 to $1,789. See gift sets.

Whole Spanish ham legs: jamón or paleta?

A whole Spanish ham leg comes in two cuts. The jamón is the hind leg: the bigger piece, with more lean meat and long slices; ours weigh 12.5 to 17 lb. The paleta is the front leg, or shoulder: 8 to 11 lb, a shorter cure, smaller slices with a more intense flavor, and the lowest price for a whole Ibérico.

Every whole leg we sell is bone-in, the traditional way to carve and keep jamón at its best. You carve it on a ham stand with a long, flexible knife, a little at a time. Once started, plan to finish a leg or a shoulder within 3 to 6 weeks, with the cut face covered with baking paper and a clean cotton cloth. See ham stands and knives and how to carve Spanish ham. If you would rather skip the stand, the boneless Serrano block slices on a board.

Jamón ibérico price: what a whole leg costs

The price of a jamón ibérico leg comes down to four things: the breed (100% or 50% Ibérico), the diet (acorns in the dehesa for bellota, pasture and grain for cebo de campo), how long it cures and the size of the piece. Our prices as of October 2026:

Roughly half the weight of a whole leg is meat you can carve (a little less on a shoulder); the rest is bone, rind and outer fat. So a pound of carved ham costs about twice the leg's price per pound, and the whole leg is still the cheaper way to buy it: from a Cinco Jotas leg, a pound of carved jamón comes to roughly $190 to $225, while our hand-carved Cinco Jotas packs work out to about $346 per pound.

Whole Ibérico hams and paletas ship free to the lower 48 states, and so does any order of $250 or more; a whole Serrano under $250 ships for a flat $29.95. Orders of $500 or more ship with adult signature required. Before you choose, read how to buy jamón ibérico online, compare grades (and prosciutto) in Ibérico vs Serrano vs Bellota and, if it is a present, see the gift for someone who has everything.

What does "pata negra" really mean?

Pata negra ("black hoof") is the nickname everyone knows, but Spain's quality standard, Real Decreto 4/2014, reserves it as an optional label term for products sold as de bellota 100% ibérico only. Those hams and shoulders carry the black seal. Red is bellota ibérico, green is cebo de campo ibérico and white is cebo ibérico. A dark hoof alone proves nothing, so check the seal and the label wording. Our Ibérico range: the acorn-fed Jamón Ibérico de Bellota and the more affordable Jamón Ibérico Cebo de Campo.

FAQ

How much is a whole Spanish ham leg?

From $219 for a 13-14 lb Serrano to $1,695 for a 16-17 lb Cinco Jotas. A whole jamón ibérico leg starts at $499 (Melquiades 50% Ibérico cebo de campo, 15-17 lb), and a 100% Ibérico de bellota leg at $1,095 (Beher, 15-17 lb).

Does Spanish ham need refrigeration?

A whole cured ham needs no refrigeration until you cut it. Sliced packs are different: refrigerated items currently ship to Florida addresses only.

Is bone-in or boneless better?

Bone-in is the traditional format and leaves you a bone for stock, but it needs a ham stand and a long knife. The boneless Serrano block is easier to slice at home.

Where do you ship?

Ground shipping covers the contiguous 48 states, not Alaska, Hawaii or PO boxes.

Is a whole ham a good gift?

Yes, for anyone who cooks or entertains: it needs no refrigeration until it is cut, and our gift sets add the stand and the knife. More ideas in the gift for someone who has everything.