Extremadura Dehesa

The dehesa is a living landscape: ancient cork and holm oak woodland across Extremadura and Andalucía. It is one of Europe's most biodiverse ecosystems, and it is where the world's finest ham is born.

Our producer families raise Ibérico pigs on these plains. The pigs roam between the oak trees, building lean muscle and accumulating the fat that makes Bellota ham unlike anything else on earth. During the montanera season, the animals feed on bellotas, the acorns that give the cured ham its silky texture and nutty sweetness.

After slaughter, the legs are salted and hung in mountain curing rooms called secaderos. Clean curing and patient mountain air shape the final ham. The result is a ham that has passed the most exacting quality protocol in Spanish food law: Denominación de Origen Protegida Jamón de Extremadura.

La Dehesa selects this style of ham for partners who need a clear origin story, clean curing, and a product that performs in premium service.