BEHER: A Family Story from Guijuelo, One Exceptional Ibérico Ham
Some ingredients make a dinner feel like an occasion before anybody has sat down. A whole Ibérico ham is one of them. Our latest arrival, BEHER boneless jamón de cebo 100% Ibérico, invites exactly that sort of evening: good bread, something lovely in the glass and absolutely no reason to hurry.
Behind the ham is a family business with roots in Guijuelo, in Spain’s Salamanca province. To understand the appeal of this particular piece, it helps to begin there.
A family story that began in the 1930s
BEHER traces its beginnings to Bernardo Hernández Blázquez, who started selling traditionally made Ibérico products in Guijuelo in the early 1930s. His son, Bernardo Hernández García, took over in the 1970s, expanded exports and brought the breeding of purebred Ibérico pigs into the business.
At the turn of the century, the third generation, Bernardo and Jorge Hernández Tinoco, was leading an established family producer. Today the company describes a fourth generation becoming involved. That continuity matters: the story is about decades spent breeding animals, making ham and refining a recognisable house style.
From the farm to the curing cellar
BEHER calls its approach “BEHER 360”: overseeing the production cycle from raising pigs through to the finished product. Its own farms and estates span Spain and Portugal, while its curing process draws on Guijuelo’s climate.
For us, that is an interesting part of the producer’s identity. A ham begins long before it reaches the cellar. The animal, its feeding and the patient work that follows are all parts of the same story, rather than details added at the end.
Reading the name: 100% Ibérico and cebo
100% Ibérico describes the breed. BEHER says its breeding animals are purebred Ibérico and registered in the Aeceriber herd book. Breed and feeding are separate pieces of information, which is why both appear in a ham’s full name.
Cebo identifies grain-fed ham. BEHER’s boneless cebo de campo range is described by the producer as raised on cereals and natural pasture. That does not mean exclusively grass-fed. Our listed ham is 100% Ibérico cebo, not acorn-fed bellota.
That distinction is useful when choosing a ham: purebred Ibérico is a breed designation, while the feeding category tells you something different. Read both together.
Why choose the boneless format?
Deshuesado means deboned. This is a whole hind-leg jamón with the bone removed, giving you a more manageable piece for slicing and portioning. Our current piece weighs 5.443 kg.
The boneless format makes a whole ham practical for a kitchen that wants to slice and portion it over time. Follow the individual pack’s storage and use-by instructions for your piece.
Our favourite way to put it on the table
Make the first plate deliberately simple. Arrange fine slices in loose folds, leaving a little space between them. Serve the portion once it has lost its fridge chill, while keeping the remaining ham refrigerated. Taste a slice on its own before introducing anything else.
For the next round, add picos or good bread. Put olives in a separate bowl and let guests build their own little combinations. If you are serving pan con tomate, keep the tomato light enough that the ham still has room to speak.
Our pairing suggestion is a dry fino or manzanilla, or a crisp glass of cava. For a longer lunch, begin with the ham, then bring out the rest of the tapas gradually. There is no need to put the entire Spanish pantry on one board, tempting though we appreciate that can be.
A whole boneless piece also suits a kitchen that wants to portion its own ham. Keep it refrigerated, protect the cut surface and follow the pack’s storage and use-by instructions. Cut only what you plan to serve.
A new addition to Rare and Special
We have added this BEHER cebo ham to our Rare and Special collection. It is a generous choice for a serious ham enthusiast, a celebratory table or a chef who wants to do the slicing.
Explore the BEHER boneless cebo jamón
Research and photography: BEHER’s family history, production overview, breed and husbandry information, ham characteristics and boneless cebo de campo product page. Serving and pairing suggestions are from Spanish Pig. Producer photographs illustrate the wider BEHER story; the product listing’s first image shows the boneless format.
