Jamon de Trevelez is the PGI cured ham from the Alpujarras village at 1,500 metres, the Sierra Nevadas signature jamon with a sweet long-cure note from altitude.
Where to eat it: 5 restaurants across 1 city.
Jamon de Trevelez has been cured at 1,500 metres in the Alpujarras village of Trevelez since the 18th century, the high-altitude air giving the ham a sweet, dry-cured character distinct from Iberian acorn-fed jamon. The PGI (Indicacion Geografica Protegida) was granted in 2005. The ham cures for a minimum of 14 months and the best examples run 30 months. In Granada city the canonical bar tapa of habas con jamon Trevelez is on every traditional menu, and the cured slices are sold by every Andalusian charcuteria in the Centro.
Tip from the editors. Buy from the leg at the counter, sliced thin enough to read text through; pre-packaged jamon Trevelez is rarely the same.
This is the TableJourney editorial recipe, modelled on the canonical bistro / counter version. The first place to try the dish in its city of origin is below.
Bodegas Castaneda on Calle Almireceros in Granada runs to 00:30, the citys most reliable late tapeo stop with free tapas and house vermut on tap.
Try: Free tapas with vermut
Tip: The tapas rotation slows after 23:00 but does not stop; the kitchen runs until close.
Antigua Bodega Castaneda on Calle Elvira in Granada runs to midnight with house vermut on tap and Andalusian raciones, a late-tapeo classic.
Try: Vermut and Andalusian raciones
Tip: Two-stop crawl with Bodegas Castaneda around the corner; this one is heavier on raciones.
La Cueva de 1900 next to Plaza del Carmen in Granada is the citys jamon and chacina specialist taberna, original of a chain founded here in 1979.
Order: Iberian acorn-fed jamon and a chacina board.
Tip: Continuous service from breakfast to midnight; the Reyes Catolicos 13 branch is more central than the Realejo location.
Las Tinajas in Granada is the second-generation Figares institution open since 1971, with clay tinajas overhead and a Vinos de Granada wine cellar.
Tip: Order off the menu del dia at lunch; the same kitchen runs a la carte in the evening at double the price.
Casa Encarna in Granada is the Pedro Antonio de Alarcon sister of the Diamantes group, a formal table-service option for Motril seafood classics.
Order: Cocido granadino and a glass of Calicasas.
Tip: Phone reservations only; the dining room sits 60 and books out on Sunday lunches with locals.
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