Getting Jamon into the US

No meat products are allowed to be brought into the US

https://www.cbp.gov/travel/international-visitors/agricultural-items#:~:text=Prohibited%20or%20restricted%20items%20may,and%20Plant%20Health%20Inspection%20Service.

Don't try to sneak it in. If caught, besides a fine and possible jail time, it could mean you will be searched every time you re-enter the country. You may not be allowed to use Global Entry, Mobile Passport Control or TSA Pre-check,

Spanish Jamon is available in the US from licensed importers.

In the past I’ve purchased Serrano ham online through Costco. It’s 9-10lbs boneless and I slice it. The first year I bought it I also bought a special knife to slice it with. I vacuum seal it and it lasts the year. There are other online retailers that one can purchase it through.

Cured hams (prosciutto, Serrano ham, Iberian ham) and salami from areas within France, Germany, Italy and Spain may not be brought into the United States by travelers. These items may only enter in commercial shipments because there are special restrictions that require additional certification and documentation.

https://www.aphis.usda.gov/traveling-with-ag-products/meats-poultry-seafood

You can try to smuggle in vacuum sealed Jamon, but technically it's against the rules I think, so there's risk.

When I was a Spanish expat living in the US I would typically order from these two Spanish food importers for all my Jamon needs, they have typically the same selection as what you would find back in Spain. One of the stores is located on the east coast and the other on the west coast of the US:

https://www.tienda.com/

https://laespanolameats.com/

As a kid long before luggage sniffing dogs, my father brought back an entire ham from the family farm in Galicia “hidden” in a suitcase ( as if you can hide a 20 lb ham…) Today, I wouldn’t try to bring back even a little in vacuum sealed packages today, the consequences are not worth the risk. I buy my jamón here:

https://www.ham-cheese-wine.com/default.aspx

Comparable pricing to others, better quality (my opinion) and all hand cut.

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1. Do not help people break laws. Speaking of the existence of law breaking is OK. Sharing how to circumvent visa restrictions, scam hotels, or perform other illegal acts is prohibited.

It's not worth it. Ham smells strong and the food alarms or Customs dogs will likely find it.

That was the plot of the Sophia Loren movie “Lady Liberty “

Better option is ordering high quality Spanish Jamon Iberico Bellota Ham Leg with Stand and Knife, 15.4 lbs. on Costco.com:
https://www.costco.com/covap-jamon-iberico-bellota-ham-leg-with-stand-and-knife,-15.4-lbs..product.100519895.html

A friend is a food importer and longtime resident of Spain. She says the Costco ham is from a solid producer and represents a fantastic value.

To me 650 bucks is quite an investment in ham. I applaud the commitment. How long would that last in your households? It still stays nice even once you've been slicing it for a while?

As I mentioned upthread, I get the Costco 9.5lb boneless Serrano ham when it’s on sale in November (for about $180), slice it, and vacuum seal it. It runs out in 1 to 1.5 years. I use some of it for making Galician soup during the winter. My guess is most people wouldn’t notice a huge difference between the Serrano and Ibérico hams; at least not enough of a difference to justify the extra cost.

An issue with the $650 ham is part of that price is for the knife and stand you set it in to cut it. You don’t need more than one knife and stand.

Costco has other options - https://www.costco.com/s?dept=All&keyword=ham

$180 sounds a bit more manageable. I could see jamon becoming a major constituent of my diet if I had that around the house.

Hi! I had no idea it was illegal because I just read the signs at the markets stating okay to travel with. lol, I have traveled to Valencia, Spain several times including right now and brought it back to Seattle in my checked suitcase with no problem whatsoever LOL Oopsies

Well, you see, Lucy wrapped it up like a baby in I Love Lucy, but I don't know that she was actually successful...

One aspect of getting caught with products that are not allowed back in USA is having your Global Entry revoked. The term "trusted traveler" is quite literal. Having Global Entry is incredibly useful . So consequences can be more than having the product confiscated.

My understanding as a dual national having gone between Spain and the US, during the last 52 years.
Nowadays, yes, you may bring Jamón Serrano or Ibérico jams in a vacuum sealed package IF and ONLY IF, THEY'RE FROM COMPANIES THAT HAVE BEEN APPROVED BY THE USDA & FDA FOR IMPORTS FROM SPAIN INTO THE US. FYI: THERE ARE ONLY A HANDFUL OF SUCH COMPANIES. So, be careful what a vendor tells you in Spain, sometimes people don't care they just want to sell.

Speaking from experience, I can tell you that you'll save a few bucks, sure.

However, in the end it may be easier to just buy it Stateside.

Reason, not every law enforcement official ANYWHERE seems to know as much as they should before dealing with the public.

Hey, we live in an imperfect world.

I can tell you, it would probably be really frustrating for anyone, after just arriving from a long trip to hear some official doing a routine search of your bag and then says, "Sir/Mam/Folks: I'm sorry but meat products aren't allowed into the US."
You know for a fact that this particular brand is allowed, and then you have to ask for a supervisor to come over. At this point, you'll have to spend time defending your legal import into the US.
This could take minutes, it could take hours.
Who knows, they still might tell you NO.
Then, you wonder, regardless of the outcome...hmmmm???
"Did I really save anything, with all of this hassle? Did I?"

For me (since some years back)...it's definitely a lot easier to buy my Jamón Serrano or Ibérico online, here, Stateside either at Costco or several other sources I have found over the last few years.

I'm not into wasting time dealing with the headaches to merely save $25 to $50.
I tend not to be a Pound (£) foolish person just trying to save a few pennies.
These days, there are quite a few Import or Specialty Foods Companies in the US dedicated to importing Spanish cured hams and other Spanish products into the US market. Many of these companies have some really decent prices. It's not uncommon to find a Bodega Jamón Serrano for about $95 to $100 dollars if you look around.
I will never spend $150, $250, $500, or more for a ham, when, I can get the same one or a similar ham for $95 or $100, no lie.
So, do yourself a favor, shop around online and spend about 15 minutes. You might just save yourself some money.

In any case, nowadays in the States, I can find just about anything from Spain that used to make me homesick and for a fairly decent price to boot!

Have fun whatever you do!
Cheers!

Depending on where you live, specialty butchers may carry Jamon. If you live in the DC metro area, The Organic Butcher in McLean and Bethesda has it, https://www.theorganicbutcher.com/.

You should also be able to have it shipped to you from D'Artagnan at https://www.dartagnan.com/home.

Speaking of Jamon, is anyone watching "Only Murders in the Building"? Part of this season's plot revolves around a huge chunk of Jamon. :-)

To golden's reply. Excellent reply, and it stands for any product from Europe, and liquor and wine too. Go to Amazon. They have Spanish ham that comes with the stand and a knife. That's the whole leg, but you can get it sliced in smaller quantities.

If you go to Spain, bring back some excellent tinned conservas and quality paprika instead. They travel well, they’re great as gifts, and they’re hard to get here in the states.

Another of the very few posters here who understands the joys of conservsas!!! I bring about 20 tins of both seafood and piquillo peppers each time I return to the US from Spain for about a third the US price, depending on the brand.

Spanish or Italian meat of ANY kind is illegal to bring into the USA and the fact that it is vaccuum packed makes no difference. Vendors who are telling you that the way it is packed makes a difference are either misinformed of USDA law, or trying to make a sale, or perhaps they do not know you are entering the US. Those sniffer dogs can even smell meat that has been commercially packed in a tin. (I have seen this happen!)

I have been stopped twice, the first time for a half of a lamb sandwich from Gaucin, that I had planned to eat on the place and had forgotten about. I was stopped again last week for forgetting to eat a Sicilian peach that I was saving for dessert on the plane. Next time I will be much more careful. There is almost nothing you can buy in Spain that you cannot find in the US if you are willing to pay the price and know where to look.

There are many good suppliers of all grades of iberco ham here in the US. We like Ideal Cheese in New York City. they also sell Serrano (which means "Mountain" ham) and a wide variety of Spanish cheeses and conservas from Andalucia, Galicia, Cantabria, and Navarra, to name a few. And Ideal will sell you the among of bellota you want--not necessary to buy entire leg.

Another top importer in NYC is DESPANA...whole leg or sliced.

https://despanabrandfoods.com/collections/jamon-bellota?
srsltid=AfmBOorXLERx1yNgjYSiAGJYEEPOVQQdH9_aOzPX6Vz1PD5WXn5bdzEB