Adopt an Air-Dried Ham

Deep in our drying rooms, waiting for the moment of perfection, it's your very own air-dried British ham, produced to your personal specifications.

Inspiration

Our photographer, the outstanding Pete, once did a shoot in Italy for a luxury lifestyle magazine. He went to a chateau, or whatever they call a chateau in Italy, and down in the cellar, photographed the most stunning Culatello di Zibello (which is like a Parma ham, but a little smaller). Racks and racks of the stuff, aging for up to three years each. We'd heard of this place before; it had once been owned by the composer Verdi, but it wasn't just the history, or the endless rows of ham that drew us in, it was the little labels around the top of each one.

They were nametags, and they bore the monikers of the great and good. The royalty of Europe, the stars of Hollywood, all had laid down culatello deep in Verdi's cellar, being aged to perfection for them, under the watchful eyes of master charcutiers.

And we thought, wouldn't you like to have a bit of that?

How does it work?

In Britain, the joint culatello is made from is called a horseshoe, as in horseshoe gammon. You'll adopt a horseshoe ham, your own British culatello, and follow its path from butchery to gastronomic perfection. From exceptional heritage breed pork, we take and trim the legs, leaving the larger muscles which will age slowly and take on real depth of flavour. These are simply cured, tied and wrapped, ready for a lengthy aging process.

You follow it all, as we send you pictures to tell the story of your ham. When it is cured and ready to dry, you can follow its progress 24/7 via 'HamCam', a livestream from the drying room.

More than follow though, you'll direct. Your culatello will be ready to eat at six months, superb at a year, peerless at two and otherworldly at three. Will you have the patience to watch your humble horseshoe become the charcuterie of legend? Or will it be devoured at the first opportunity? The choice will be yours.

And you'll keep in touch with your ham in person, too. Including in the package is a ticket for a tour and tasting at Bray Cured, where you can check in on your product in person. Get hands on, check the weight loss, the feel and smell, and then toast your ham's onward journey with local wine and charcuterie nibbles.

What's Included?

• A gift-boxed 'Adopt an Air-Dried Ham' gift card.
• A horseshoe ham with a minimum starting weight of 2.5kgs.
• The curing of your ham.
• Aging of the ham to your specification, from six months up to three years.
• Updates on your ham's progress, including livestream from the drying room via HamCam.
• Slicing, packing and shipping of the finished ham (you can also slice it yourself if you prefer).
• Meet the Meat ticket to visit and toast your ham at Bray Cured.

How will it start?

• Once you (or your gift recipient) redeems the gift card, we'll lay down your ham and request your specifications for it (which you can change later).
• You'll receive the updates automatically, along with a link to the livestream.
• You'll also receive an invite to book your Meet the Meat session at a time convenient for you.

How does the cost stack up?

• Culatello di Zibello DOP comes in at around £80/kg sliced. By the time yours has fully dried, you'll have paid £90/kg. But within that, you'll have followed the story and attended Meet the Meat. However, there's a kicker. Ordinary Culatello di Zibello DOP might be a few months or a year old. If you wanted to get a two or three year aged version, the cost would shoot up. So your price starts to look a bargain, if you have the patience!