Frequent Questions

Where do we make deliveries to? 

Here you will find the complete country list as well as the shipping costs. We only send our products to the countries included in the list. https://www.enriquetomas.com/es/content/11-gastos-de-envio

When will my order arrive? 

Orders for the Spanish territory (Peninsula) are normally delivered from 24 h for orders confirmed before 13 h. For the rest it can oscillate between 48-36 hours. In both cases, preparation and delivery are always made on working days. Once the order has been sent, the customer receives an e-mail notification with the estimated delivery date. In the case of orders outside Spain, this delivery time can be between 3 and 5 working days approximately from the confirmation of the order.

These delivery times can be extended by 12-24 hours if the order contains, for example, a knife cut ham, as we cut it on receipt of the order so that you receive it practically freshly cut and can enjoy it to the full.

During the second half of December these usual delivery times can double due to the high volume of daily orders we receive in the days leading up to Christmas.

Do you have ham -carving courses ? 

We teach how to slice and carve a ham in Barcelona in calle Pelayo 18. For further information please refer to this link where you may purchase directly the course.

https://www.enriquetomas.com/es/curso-de-corte/279-curso-de-corte.html

We will provide you with all the necessary tools. Just come and enjoy learning.

We also have courses available for companies and groups of more than 20 people. If this is the case, we may also give the lesson in other premises than ours with an extra cost.  Write to web@enriquetomas.com and explain us the kind of event that you want to organize and we will see how we can help you.

How do you preserve and store a ham?

We recommend you to store the ham (piece) in a dry cool space (between 15º and 25º C) and preferably hung, or in a ham holder (“Jamonero”)

Once sliced open, we recommend you to eat it completely within less than 21 days in order to keep the flavour, quality and properties intact. In summer, the time should be shorter, about 16 days. Slice only the ham quantity that you need or that you are going to eat, then cover the ham with a lint free cotton cloth to keep it away from dust, dirt and light until next time you slice it. 

How do you preserve and store a ham shoulder? 

We recommend you to store the ham shoulder (piece) in a dry cool space (between 15º and 25º C) and preferably hung or in a ham holder (“Jamonero”)

Once sliced open, we recommend to eat it completely within less than 15 days in order to keep the flavour, quality and properties intact. In summer, the time should be shorter, about 10 days. Slice only the ham quantity that you need or that you are going to eat, then cover the ham with a lint free cotton cloth to keep it away from dust, dirt and light until next time you slice it. 

How do you preserve the vacuum-packed bags of ham and ham shoulder? 

The ham will be vacuum-packed at the very moment it is sliced by one of our ham-carving experts, so that it keeps the qualities until the point of final consumption. To enjoy all the aroma nuances and flavour of the sliced and vacuum-packed ham, we recommend to keep it away from the light at a steady room temperature of 15ºC. Obviously, many of us do not have a natural cellar “bodega” at home, then we keep it at the refrigerator. It is highly advised to consume it within 3 months of the date on which it was sliced and packed. 

If the vacuum-packed bags were stored in the fridge, make sure to remove them from the fridge at least 30 minutes before eating, so that the ham reaches the room temperature and thus the maximum flavour. For you to forget about the temperature and know when slices are ready to serve is when you can separate them easily without breaking. If so, it means that the slices have their flavour, texture and aroma back and are ready to be served or used for the sandwiches.

Can we make a shipping as a gift ? 

Any of the products online for sale can be sent as a gift. The recipient will get your message on a card along with your gift and a delivery note with no price on it.

If you want us to process your order as a gift, you shall write your message in the box “leave a message”, just before you make the payment. Please indicate that your order is intended as a gift and type the message that you want us to write for you.

How do I use a discount code? 

If you have a promo code applicable online www.enriquetomas.com,  you may use it in you purchase like this:

1)     Go to www.enriquetomas.com

2)     Select all the products that you want to buy and add them to your basket.

3)     Access to your customer account or create a new one and before making the payment, write the said promo code in the box VOUCHER and click on APPLY VOUCHER.

You will see the promotion code applied and you will be able to finalize the payment.

What does Enrique Tomás total guarantee really mean? 

Our mission is to succeed in making you enjoy the Jamon in the same way that we do since many years ago. Hence,  in Enrique Tomas we follow strict quality controls from the very first step in the Jamon production to our final customers.

The good Iberico ham is elaborated with a lot of care and patience for years. It is a true work of art that we respect and take care of, to bring it to your home with all the properties, aromas and 100% of the characteristic flavour of the Iberico ham from each geographic area.

The secret to make possible that the Enrique Tomás ham gets to your hands in perfect shape is to do things right along the complete ham production process. This is based upon a triple quality control or triple selection.

In Enrique Tomás we have total guarantee labelled in all of our ham/ham shoulders pieces.

What does Enrique Tomás total guarantee mean?

Firstly, the Enrique Tomás Guarantee Seal assures you that the ham piece is good and perfectly dry cured. This seal is a reaffirmation of our commitment to make you enjoy the ham of your choice. Secondly, our ham pieces are submitted to three different quality controls which make us rest assured that everything is in order; yet not all of us have the same tastes and, thus if the costumer does not like the product, we change it for another one. If you taste our ham, you will certainly repeat the experience.

Hereafter, there are summary descriptions of the ham screenings during the different elaboration steps:

 Selection in “Secadero” (natural cellar where hams are hung for dry curing) 

A group of experts of Enrique Tomás, before purchasing any ham piece, visit all the “secaderos” all over the ham production areas in Spain (Salamanca, Huelva, Cáceres/Badajoz and Córdoba) and taste “jamón” of all the different lots of products until they find perfectly tasty dry-cured ham. Among all the selected pieces, we ask only the needed number of pieces to be sent to our premises at that very moment.

 Selection in the warehouse 

Once the product is in our premises, the group of experts of Enrique Tomás make the “cala” (every ham/ham shoulder is tested about its degree of curing stage) to the ham pieces, to ensure that all of them have the same quality standard; regardless of the fact that they belong to the same group of hams.  If the experts are satisfied with the “jamon”, it will be commercially available. Otherwise, if the ham does not meet the required expectations, it will be sent back to the ham producer.

Selection for the customer 

At the moment, we sell a ham/ham shoulder, our staff members check the ham piece again as a final default screening. Also, the ham that best suits the customer’s taste and expectations will be chosen.

As we are full aware of the fact that, as consumers, we do not have all the same taste, if a client is not satisfied with the ham that he has purchased (in stores or in webpage), we are not satisfied either, and we will change it for you right away.

You cannot find a product 

The products available in our website can be found in our SHOP ONLINE or by searching in the web browser located at the top right of the menu bar. If you do not succeed anyway, please e-mail us to web@enriquetomas.com, and we will look it for you.

 You want to return a product or make a complaint about your order 

You may e-mail us to web@enriquetomas.com and explain your case and we will work to solve it as soon as possible.

Return policy 

You are entitled to return all damaged products or refuse those not in conformity with your expectations. Yet you shall inform us as soon as possible ( no more than 7 days after receipt of your order) about the problem or refusal to web@enriquetomas.com.

Our team will contact you to solve the case, we will replace the product for another of similar characteristics and will take care of both the shipping cost and the return expenses within no more than 7 days after receipt of the returned product in our premises.  In case, the returned product is not complete or a part of it has been consumed, Enrique Tomás will invoice you the portion consumed before sending the replacement product.

What is a Spanish ham? 

The “jamón” (ham) is the result of the dry-curing process in salt of the pig’s back leg.  Depending on the pick’s breed and diet, the curing time will increase substantially, and the flavor of the resulting ham will vary accordingly.  Also, the ham flavors will be different with regard to the parts of the same leg: the “maza-ham” is the softest part, the “contramaza”-Rear Flank-, the tastiest part and, the nearer we get down to the bone, the more intense flavor we get.

 What is the ham shoulder -Paleta? 

The “paleta” (ham shoulder) is the result of the dry-curing process in salt of the pig’s front leg.  Its flavour is usually more intense than ham’s because the meat is nearer to the bone and has less fat. For this reason, the curing time of the ham shoulder is also shorter.

In general, there are 5 different stages in the production process of a ham (Jamón) or ham shoulder (Paleta):

1)     Raw/fresh product. The fresh meat is cut into pieces. Pieces like the back legs that will turn into the “Jamón” -ham and the front legs that will turn into the “Paleta”- ham shoulder

2)     Salting process. The animal legs are literally buried in sea salt for as many days as kilos the fresh leg weighs in order to enable dehydration and conservation. 

3)     Wash with warm water. This procedure removes the excess salt. Hams and ham shoulders go through a “washing tunnel” where some brushes help remove the excess salt.

4)     Drying and maturation. The ham pieces are brought to special natural cellar with steady temperature where they start the dry curing process. At this point, hams and hams shoulders undergo the most delicate stage because of a higher exposure to infection. It is very important to keep good track of the temperature and the degree of moisture.

5)     Dry-curing in “Bodega”. Hams and hams shoulders finally go to the bodega (-cellar) where they conclude the last period of time of dry curing. The final outcome will rely on both, the characteristics of the product and on the skills of the manufacturer. 

What does the ibérico /iberian swine eat? 

The Iberico hog reaches the first 100 kg of weight in the same way that the rest of swine do.  Immediately after weaning, the piglets are fattened on animal feeds and vitamin-enriched food for several weeks. For the animal to be strong, to have muscular strength and resistant bones until it reaches the final weight, it is much important to make it follow a balanced diet. The swine selected to produce Jamón Ibérico de Bellota (Iberian acorn-fed ham) get their final weight during the time, called the “Montanera” . In November when it is already cold in the Sierra, the local farmers let the swine run free on the unique area of pastures so that they gain the final weight in a natural environment. During 4 months, the swine will feed on all the acorns, red fruits and grass that they find. For this reason, the swine are fully active, roaming around and drinking water. When their weight has climbed by 50%, they will be ready to produce the wonderful  Iberian acorn fed “jamón ibérico de bellota”.

What is the iberian swine? 

This breed of animal is a unique phenomenon of the Iberian Peninsula. Its characteristics makes it very different from the rest of the pigs’ breeds; especially because one of the distinctive genetic traits of this breed is its ability to store fat in muscle tissue. Hence, those regular flecks of intramuscular fat (marbling) that make iberico ham so unique.

The degree of purity of the hog's breed depends, obviously, on the breed purity of its parents. Therefore, we can consider as an Iberian pig any one that exceeds 50% of breed purity. For this to be so, we need the mother to be 100% pure breed. In the case of a PATA NEGRA hog, it must have 100% genetic purity of the Iberian breed, which means that both its parents must also be of 100% Iberian pure breed, not only the mother.

What does the origin of a “Jamón Ibérico” mean? 

We call origin to the location where the ham or ham shoulder were produced. Their flavour nuances and characteristics are to be found in the production process of each geographic area. For this reason, in Enrique Tomas we are pioneers in explaining and classifying the hams and ham shoulders by place of origin, so that you may find easily the ham flavour that suits you best. In Enrique Tomas, we classify them according to the four most relevant production areas:

Salamanca (Guijuelo):  

Of gentle pleasant flavor (it bears the yellow “G” letter in our product catalogue. You are maybe more familiar with the terms “Designation of origin” (Guijuelo, etc.), yet not all the hams produced within this region are under this designation.

Huelva (Jabugo): 

The ham of this origin has a strong lasting taste (it bears the red “J” letter in our product catalogue). In this case, the Designation of Origin mostly known is “Jabugo”.

Cáceres-Badajoz (Extremadura): 

The ham from this origin is aromatic and strong (it bears the blue “E” letter in our product catalogue). The Designation of origin “Dehesa” of Extremadura refers to the forests where the tree components are holm and cork oaks and are basically located in the region of Cáceres and Badajoz.

Córdoba (Pedroches): 

The ham from this origin is savoury tasty and intense (it bears the orange “P” letter). The Designation of Origin Pedroches is the newest one and refers to a group of locations in the Valley of Los Pedroches (North of Córdoba).

The difference among all the origins can basically be explained by factors like the climate, the humidity and the local methodology employed in the dry-curing process.

What is the “sliced service pack” of Enrique Tomás? 

We offer the service of boning, slicing and vacuum-packing a whole piece of ham or ham shoulder. We make by hand all these three processes to ensure the best final outcome, without altering either the taste or the aroma of the product. It is the best way to taste our ham, if you do not know how to slice it or simply you do not feel like doing it, or it will take you longer than 21 days (time recommended to keep a ham, once it has been first sliced) to consume the whole piece of ham. If it is a ham shoulder, the recommended consumption time is even shorter, 15 days. The advantages of the “slicing service” are mainly the convenience, the best product conservation and use by saving money at the same time. We offer this slicing service carried out either by a cutting machine (this service costs 18 additional euros) or by hand with a knife. (this service costs 24 euros).

In addition to the vacuum-packed ham into slices, cubes and shavings resulting from the selected ham piece, you will get the bones of the same ham piece on a separate package that you may use to cook a delicious broth.

How can I know that you have received my order correctly? 

You will get a confirmation that your order was placed correctly, then another one indicating that your order is being prepared by our logistics team and finally, you will get a notice indicating that your order has left our premises on its way to the destination address indicated by you.

How can I pay my order? 

By any credit or debit card, also you may select PayPal or by bank wire.

Can I cancel my order? 

You may cancel your order by writing to web@enriquetomas.com and we will cancel it, provided that the goods are yet in our premises. Once the parcel has left our premises, it will no longer be possible.

How to cut a Spanish ham into slices? 

The four main steps to slice a ham are the following:

1)     First of all, it is very important to hold steadily the ham piece so that it doesn’t move before slicing it. By doing so, you won´t hurt yourself and the slices’ cut will be right. If your pulse shakes, it may be difficult to cut it but the ham won’t move at all.  

2)     You will make a first cut in V shape in the hock part to define the starting slicing point and then proceed to take out the outward skin of the top of the leg, this video will indicate you visually how to do it  https://vimeo.com/100314802

3)     This cut must be made by means of a sharp strong bladed knife, in any case never use the long bladed knife for cutting the thin slices.

4)     If you have a ham shoulder, put it hoof down (to start it cutting from the harder part) and do the V shape cut, so that you start slicing on the “maza”part (See figure above). First remove the fat and yellowish skin from the first layer until you find the ham (leave a size of one finger of fat on both sides). At this point, you may start slicing ham with the “ham” knife. Try to slice as horizontally as possible, cutting slices of 3 cm approx., so that they can be put entirely in the mouth. Start slicing on the top part of the hoof and go down sliding the knife as far as you can to your direction. In this way, you will avoid shaping the ham on a concave shape (as if it were a boat), when you keep always slicing it in the same place. It is very important to keep the free hand holding the hoof away from the cutting area. When you become an expert, you may put your hand in other places but as a beginner we strongly recommend to do it so, in order to avoid risks.

5)     When you get to the coxal bone (hip) you will need another tool called “la puntilla”- (special sharp short knife) to take the ham off the bone. This will make easier the ham slicing. When the femur is visible, it is time to turn the ham piece over and start slicing on the “babilla” or “contramaza”.  You may appreciate it better on the figure below.

In the babilla area, you get a sloping cut since cutting horizontally is almost impossible.  The main goal is to follow the femur direction avoiding the latter.  Generally, the slicing system is exactly the same, from the top to the bottom, starting by the nearest part to the hoof down to your direction.  When you reach the femur, you shall continue to the third slicing area, “la cadera” or “punta”.  Do not be too hard with yourself by trying to get the same slice thickness as the shop specialist. Yet, by practising a little every day you will see how easier it gets eventually and your slices will taste more delicious every day.

Tools for ham carving        

You need basically the ham holder “Jamonero” and a good ham knife. This knife is specially designed to slice the ham. It has a special blade: long, thin and flexible to cut the slice precisely and adjust to the ham profile.  

Ideally, we recommend you to get an extra knife set for extra help. You may use other knives of similar characteristics.

By making the first cut, you will start removing the initial crust, it is better to use a knife with a wider blade, since the cut has to be deep. It does not have to be a specific knife, surely you have in your kitchen some available that will serve you as well.

The “puntilla” is a knife of a narrow, short, pointed blade; especially designed to be inserted between the ham and the bone to separate them, so that we get nice, thin slices or perfect ham cubes and shavings. Then, try to use a knife with these similar characteristics to cut the ham successfully.

The three knives have to be always sharp, especially the ham knife, otherwise it will not penetrate well into the meat and you will not be able to make thin and regular slices. Thus, we strongly recommend you to use a knife grinder before cutting.

Finally, if you want to have the complete pack of accessories, you will need tweezers to take the slice and put it on the plate, instead of using your fingers, unless you eat while you slice and cannot wait to enjoy this pleasure!