I'm Laura García, Export Director at Ibéricos Torreón, and today I want to tell you a story that touched me deeply. Because it's not every day you find yourself standing in the middle of a small town square in Salamanca, bidding for a leg of Iberian ham with visitors from across the world . And even less so when that leg ends up being a promise of the future, of friendship... and of an Iberian ham that makes history.
It all started in February, when the Roads & Kingdoms team, known for their soulful stories of food and culture, organized a very special trip to Salamanca . For a week, they explored the best of our land: the city and its people, the golden stone and endless tapas, and the countryside, those pastures where the Iberian pig is raised with respect and patience. They also enjoyed our exclusive Torreón Gourmet Experience.
But the climax of the trip was in Guadramiro, a village of just 158 inhabitants where tradition thrives. There we joined in one of those customs that seem frozen in time: the Slaughter. For those unfamiliar with it, the pig slaughter was—and in many villages still is— a great family and community celebration . Neighbors gather, cook, laugh, share, and make the most of every bit of the pig, because nothing of this noble animal is wasted.
In Guadramiro, the tradition has an exciting twist: each part of the pig is auctioned off right in the plaza. The freshly slaughtered animal is placed in the center, and with precision and solemnity, the butchers dismember it. Each piece becomes a trophy. And I promise you, the bidding is one of those things that makes your heart race. And we all had a good laugh together!
Alejo Sabugo, the host of Roads & Kingdoms, and the group of Americans accompanying him were swept away by the atmosphere. They didn't quite know what they were getting into... until they found themselves bidding next to me... or me next to them... for a spectacular leg of ham, weighing 19.600 kg!!! And we won. We won together. There, in that small Castilian square, we reached a delicious agreement: Ibéricos Torreón would take care of that leg for the next four years, pampering it step by step until it became an authentic Iberian ham of exceptional quality.
Today, that piece is in our hands. The ham's journey has begun. First, a cold rest calculated down to the last millimeter. Then, the shaping , that moment when it's given its final shape, with the characteristic V-shaped cut. Then, the salting : 16 days buried in Alicante sea salt, one day per kilo, at 3 degrees and 90% humidity. This is where the magic begins.
Once it's out of the salt pan, we wash it carefully, removing every remaining grain. Then comes the post-salting process, a few months of rest during which the salt continues to work and the flavor begins to whisper. And then, the longest and most delicate step: the natural drying rooms . There it will spend years, hanging in silence, allowing itself to be transformed by time, air, and the expertise of our master ham makers , who will attend to its development to ensure everything is perfect.
For centuries, butchering has been much more than a conservation technique: it has been a celebration of rural life, a way of sharing, of caring for one another as a community. Today, although many things have changed, we continue to honor this tradition with respect, adapting it to the times without losing its essence.
And yes, Roads & Kingdoms will return. They've already booked their trip from February 1st to 8th, 2026. They'll return to Salamanca to reconnect with the city, its flavors... and with us and our ham. Because they didn't just buy a leg. They took home a story. One that, for four years, we'll be writing together at Ibéricos Torreón.
And you, will you join us on this journey?
