HALL OF FAME OF PORK (IV)

Those aren't big bats. This isn't a cave. And that's not my own raincoat. It's Spain and those are hundreds, thousands of legs of jamon iberico, the greatest ham in the world. This is where they hang the bellota to age. The disposable coat is for the visitor's protection: at room temperature, the fat drips down like sacred rain. Earlier in the day we'd run around with the very happy pigs, bloated and happy on acorns. Then of course we ate a lot of the stuff and it was of course really good. This is an old picture — wish I was there today but I'm in muggy NYC and who wants to see a picture of that?