Angel León has us quite used to his increasingly impressive innovations. His passion for cooking and the sea have led him to be a benchmark in the gastronomic field both nationally and internationally. What if the sausage that is actually made with marine products, what if the discovery of a new cereal, the collaboration with Pescanova to create pasta made with fish ... Or, the last surprise of all: the sea ham. The chef has taken advantage of the celebration of Madrid Fusion -the first global gastronomy congress- to present this product that, at first glance, really looks like a pork ham. Nothing is further from reality; the man from Cádiz is an expert in these games of illusions: it is a ham made with Almadraba tuna that shares texture and shape with an Iberian. Incredible true?
Ham from the Sea in Madrid Fusion
"Long live the sea, long live our traditions, long live the trap tuna of Barbate ... And long live the kitchen ...". This is how Ángel León himself presented at the beginning of April on his personal Instagram account his sea ham, made with the belly of an almadraba tuna -the fattest area of this species-. A surprise for everyone with which the man from Cádiz reinvented a typical product from the coasts of Cádiz. To turn it into another great emblem of our gastronomy. But with a very different touch to the meat. As the Andalusian explained, the pieces selected to make this marine sausage They come from tuna whose weight ranges between 150 and 175 kilograms.
It has been one of the creations that the Chef of the SeaTogether with his team, he presented a presentation entitled “Gifts from the Sea” at the recent gastronomic congress held in Madrid. As we mentioned at the beginning, one of Ángel Léon's most ambitious and interesting projects is that of the marine sausage. In this sense, according to the organization, the Andalusian chef explained that this ham “gives us the possibility of complete the work done in Aponiente with the marine sausages ”. It is thus added to its catalog but with a view to being the jewel in the crown for what it represents. Also because of how successful that Iberian imitation is.
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El sea ham has been one of the products that has caused the most furor in the food Fair. It is not for less: all the work of research projects. It has paid off, resulting in a product that, explained León, “has nothing to envy the pig”. As written by the blog Directo al Paladar, which includes the chef's explanation, “we have used the winds to dry the fish, the dry brine, as has been done all our life, and then the cold, as one more part to extract the water ”.
«Salt water - Fresh water»
"Salt water - Sweet water" is the name of the menu that is being served in the triestrellado Aponiente -Puerto de Santa María, Cádiz-, of which the sea ham be part. It is made up of 18 passes in which it pays tribute, on the one hand, to sea water with the first 15 elaborations. And, on the other, to the fresh water with the three desserts. That's the only way to taste Ángel León's tuna ham… for now. The chef and the company from Cádiz Small hip flask -the creator of that form of Iberian ham that has a tuna belly-, they are working so that soon it can be market the product.
As the end of the presentation and the presentation of his most recent gastronomic projects, Ángel León has prepared a cover that consisted of a cake base made with Marine Rice On which he has placed slices of ham cut by him and a touch of sea honey. "Everything remains to be written still on the sea. After 15 years, we are still very excited and important discoveries are coming ”, said the chef. Little more to add. A referent, without a doubt, that he is capable of continuing to surprise with each marine discovery he makes. What will be the next thing that the Cadiz will surprise us with? It sure achieves surprise us even more!
