Jamón Dust

In JD’s words

Same day, same pool in Begur as the Nachos Españoles — and this one was my wife Diana’s idea, so the credit is hers.

Crispy oven-baked jamón blitzed into a savoury umami powder for sprinkling on just about everything. Makes roughly ⅓ cup from 100 g of jamón.

The one rule: fat is the enemy of powder. Jamón is fatty, and if you don’t press and drain the fat out during cooking you’ll end up with a greasy paste instead of a dust. Everything in the method below is built around getting the slices bone-dry and shatter-crisp before grinding.

Serrano or even prosciutto powders better than ibérico — leaner and drier, and much cheaper to experiment with; save the ibérico for eating.

Sprinkle it on fried or scrambled eggs. Popcorn (with a little smoked paprika — outrageous). Mac and cheese or any gratin. Roast cauliflower, brussels sprouts, or chips. Avocado toast. Nachos Españoles — dust over the top after the cold toppings go on. Croquetas, soups, deviled eggs, even vanilla ice cream if you’re feeling Spanish-cheffy.

Don’t bring jamón home in your luggage — pork products are prohibited through Australian biosecurity and will be seized. (The tin of pimentón is fine.)

Buy locally instead: Spanish Deli (spanishdeli.com.au) imports Spanish jamón legs and sliced packs compliantly and delivers Australia-wide; Manettas and good delis also stock sliced ibérico and serrano. Supermarket prosciutto works fine for the powder.

Amazon doesn’t sell jamón powder — it’s a make-it-yourself chef technique, not a retail product. (Searching “jamon powder” mostly returns jamun, an Indian fruit. Not the same energy.)

Big-batch tip: crisp the slices ahead and store them whole in an airtight container, then grind fresh as needed — the powder holds aroma better that way.