City boy looking for a country ham

Ive been wanting to try cooking and eating a country ham.

My only problem is that my usual places that I have been to (both here in illinois and wisconsin) have been pretty much dead ends.

Does anyone know of a place in northern illinois or southern wisconsin that sells a good ol' fashion unrefrigerated bone in country ham?

Thanks,
Mike

At the risk of sounding like I work for the guys (I don't), I got my last country ham from Paulina Market. It was a Smithfield ham (i.e. from Virginia), if that makes any difference to you. Anyway, they don't always have them -- I see them hanging in the store only around Christmas and Easter -- but you can order them in advance, and you can get a whole or a half. Call ahead and ask.

773.248.6272
Paulina Meat Market
3501 N. Lincoln Avenue (corner of Lincoln & Cornelia)
Chicago, IL 60657

Don't know if it's a country ham, but Peoria Packing (1300 W Lake in Chicago) has fresh whole or half hams for the picking...

You can't go wrong with a Smithfield ham ... if you can affor it as it comes with a hefty price tag. When I prepared them on a monthly basis, we tended to use a Gwaltney peanut-fed ham which comes from Smithfield.

This thread should help

http://www.lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.ph ... d951a204a6

A country ham is a wonderful thing, but I suggest you don't try to cook it. I've been eating them for years; it is absolutely necessary that they are COMPLETELY submerged in the cooking water, which implies a really big pot - because a country ham is, basically, the back leg of a hog, including skin.

I've ordered a cooked country ham from

http://www.newsomscountryham.com/

because they hang them a long time.

I haven't had one from them, so I can't attest more than their procedure, described on theit site, sounds right. My 20-year source of hams in Cape Girardeau went out of business in September, leaving me up a tree for Christmas ham.

I'll of course let you know how it turns out.

http://www.scotthams.com makes the best country hams and they are a website or phone call away. Scott's use no nitrates or nitrates but just salt and the prices are reasonable. Not quite as smoky as a Gwaltney Smithfield but a little more palatable for me. The cold smoked country sausage is to die for and the bacon very good for cooking but salty.-Dick