It was a blast!

I just wanted to note a couple things.

The Kite's and Benton's were both more funky (cheesy).

The Scott's was less funky and less salty, tasted sweeter, milder, subtle smoke.

The Kite's, though not smoked, was still very interesting and funky, probably the biggest surprise of the 3. Upon unwrapping, I smelled a bit of ammonia, farmyard and butter, though not to worry, the ammonia was not present in the sliced ham.

The Benton's was extremely smoked and salty, the funkiness was not hidden in any way, the meat was very porky-farmy, it was actually quite balanced. When eaten raw with melon or tomato, sliced thinly, I did not find it to be too salty.

I also have a 1 yr aged Johnson county country ham at home (not used in our 3 way split). It falls more near the Scott's, being mild, lightly smoked, less salt and less funk.

I too cannot pick a favorite, they're just too different, which is a great in itself. Of the 3, the Benton's is probably my favorite when cooked, on a biscuit, the smokiness really tastes awesome.

dansch wrote:While I've normally cooked country hams in the past, we all decided we wanted to dig in to them raw, resorting to cooking only if the raw product wasn't appealing. As it turns out... raw country ham is awesome. I'm sure I'll fry some slices up (as we did today), but I can't see myself ever cooking a whole ham again.

Excellent post - thanks.
One question: each of these companies seems to sell both raw and cooked country hams. So that I can accurately repeat this experiment, achem, which were you buying? The quote above leads me to believe you were buying the raw.

Darren72 wrote:One question: each of these companies seems to sell both raw and cooked country hams. So that I can accurately repeat this experiment, achem, which were you buying? The quote above leads me to believe you were buying the raw.

These were all purchased (and so far, consumed) raw.

-Dan

Both Scott's and Benton's sell country hams with various ages when you order. The ages will affect the taste of course.
Since we do not eat them raw due to Listeria concerns we purchase the youngest of the hams. I have gone to purchasing them presliced and vacuum packed. The packages will keep for at least six months or more. We are currently working on the last of a Rice's country ham purchased last fall sliced and packaged.
All these hams are somewhat different and none is really better than the other, they all have somewhat unique characteristics.
I just recieved a Benton's, pre sliced along with a side of Benton's bacon which is my favorite country bacon. I plan on eating the Benton's when done with the Rice's.
The Rice's ham was very good and not too smokey with simmering in water and then frying the slices.
Some of the country hams such as Gwaltney are very smokey.
I have prepared a number of these hams whole and it is a bit of work and usually there are not enough people that like country ham to consume a whole ham at one sitting. Therefore the sliced and vacuum packed is ideal.
Scott's country ham is very good and June Scott is great to work with but she will explain Listeria to you and you can make up you own mind as to whther the risk is worth eating the product raw.
Quecerio in Iowa will make you a cured product that is made for raw consumption but the price is higher. The quality is very good but it is not smoked,the Spanish Jamon or Italian Prociutto are not smoked either.
I wish I could find a US product akin to Iberico at a decent price but have not found one yet.-Dick

budrichard wrote:Quecerio in Iowa

That's actually La Quercia.

Great post, guys. It's my understanding that country hams that are shipped are often not the same hams that can be bought on premises because anything that's shipped out of the producing state has to be cured, at least in part, with sodium nitrate. However, these country hams -- the ones not designated for shipment -- are often cured with nothing more than regular salt. Do you know how the hams you received were cured? I'd love to find a source that will ship country hams cured without sodium nitrate.

=R=

It was my understanding that of the 3 we got, only the scott's was cured without the use of sodium nitrate (or nitrite). I called around to literally every country ham producer i could find on the internet, at least 30. I was mostly interested in the types of pigs used, but asked a few other questions. Many of them told me they never use nitrite or nitrate. I didn't pry into details, but it was my understanding that they were referring to all of the hams they make including the ones they ship. Too bad I didn't log all of the data i gathered but the good thing is these country ham producers typically answer the phone on the first ring! Most don't use email, even if they have an email address...

In regards to breed, almost all use whatever factory farm pig legs they can get at a good price, after all a country ham was never a luxury item. A couple of places said they like to pick specific mass produced breeds, such as Hampshire, yorkshire, china, Duroc, etc. Quite a few offer a more expensive option for pasture raised heirloom breeds. Benton was the only place who sold what I consider affordable hams ($4.50/lb at no up-charge) using heirloom breeds. He doesn't typically list what breed each ham is, as 99% of his customers don't care, "they're all good hams". He does log each batch and which breed. He happily offered to find me a Berkshire upon request and sent me a 22 month aged. He was very excited to know that people in Chicago eat country hams!

In regards to eating raw, and listeria, I asked around about that too and most of the producers said they advise to cook on the labels, because they don't want to deal with govt inspections and the hassle, however any ham aged over 6 months they typically like to eat raw as do a lot of their customers, and they never had anyone complain about getting sick. Not a single place i asked was worried about Listeria... anyhow, is Listeria it really all that bad? Bottom line, none are USDA approved and you're eating at your own risk here. To me a small risk to take for deliciousness.

ronnie_suburban wrote:

budrichard wrote:Quecerio in Iowa

That's actually La Quercia.

Great post, guys. It's my understanding that country hams that are shipped are often not the same hams that can be bought on premises because anything that's shipped out of the producing state has to be cured, at least in part, with sodium nitrate. However, these country hams -- the ones not designated for shipment -- are often cured with nothing more than regular salt. Do you know how the hams you received were cured? I'd love to find a source that will ship country hams cured without sodium nitrate.

=R=

I speak personally with each and every producer of a country ham I have ever purchased to assure that curing is done with nothing more than salt (maybe some sugar also or pepper) and have never had a producer tell me that they cannot ship a country ham to me without sodium nitrate. Some producer's do use Nitrate's and that is usually clear on thier website's. I suggest you call June Scott, Rice's or
Alan Benton to verify and order. Rice's you may have to wait because they only cure a certain number and ship in the fall and when they are gone they are gone. So far Rice's is among my favorite's.

Sorry for the spelling.-Dick

Dansch, Laikom and Msmre (or anyone else),
Any suggestions on recipes for my Benton's ham (aged/cured)? I ordered it after eating the pimento cheese spread toasts topped with ham at Husk in Charleston. I'm happy to eat it raw but I wanted advice on cooking it.

Which type of Benton's did you order?
I ordered the regular smoked and cured and it is the least dried of any country ham I have had, it is not suitable to eat without cooking. I simmer slices in water for 15 min and then fry. Much saltier than the Rice's ham. If you ordered the extra aged ham, i'm not sure it is suitable for cooking whole but rather for slicing and eaten as Jamon. Call Alan Benton and ask.
Usually a sliced ham lasts us for almost a year so I have plenty of time before I try a new producer.
I do notice a bit of the 'funky' smell previously mentioned that seems to dissipate upon cooking with the Benton's.
As I said previously, each is unique.-Dick

We got the aged ham. So far, we tried some on pizza (not so good--should have pan fried it first), pan-fried slices on biscuits and on sandwiches (very good), and in a white bean soup (also very good).

Ham pizza


Ham biscuits

I want to order and prepare a whole country ham this Christmas, preferrably a Benton's.

Any recommendations on how to prepare it? My initial thoughts were to soak for 1-2 days to remove some of the salt, and then bake (with or without crust). Does anyone have experience with this?

Benton's is really f'ing salty, and I'd recommend 3-4 days of soaking (water changes every 12 hours or so). The last time I cooked one (having eaten this last one raw w/ laikom and msmre), two days of soaking left it still saltier than I prefer (and I like salty ham).

Once soaked and scrubbed, go for moist cooking. I usually put it in a shallow roasting pan with an inch or two of liquid, tent completely with foil, and cook in a low oven until ~160 in the middle. You can simmer, but who has a pot that big? (fine if you have a half ham)

All that said, I recommend you cut your ham in half, eat the shank end raw (easier to get clean slices from that end) and cook the butt end. Enjoy in all its various hammy forms.

-Dan

dansch wrote:Benton's is really f'ing salty, and I'd recommend 3-4 days of soaking (water changes every 12 hours or so). The last time I cooked one (having eaten this last one raw w/ laikom and msmre), two days of soaking left it still saltier than I prefer (and I like salty ham).

Once soaked and scrubbed, go for moist cooking. I usually put it in a shallow roasting pan with an inch or two of liquid, tent completely with foil, and cook in a low oven until ~160 in the middle. You can simmer, but who has a pot that big? (fine if you have a half ham)

All that said, I recommend you cut your ham in half, eat the shank end raw (easier to get clean slices from that end) and cook the butt end. Enjoy in all its various hammy forms.

-Dan

Thanks Dan. I was inspired by your post, and others in this thread, to finally try a country ham. Would you (or anyone else) recommend a ham other than Benton's for whole preparation?

Habibi wrote:Would you (or anyone else) recommend a ham other than Benton's for whole preparation?

I love Kite's and Calhoun's.

-Dan

(yes, I'm from Virginia and hence biased, but they're both delicious hams)

I've really enjoyed Surrey hams from VA:http://surryfarms.com/


Geo

Geo wrote:I've really enjoyed Surrey hams from VA:http://surryfarms.com/

Surryano hams are incredible, though I don't think they're ever meant to be cooked. As I noted a while back in the Best Thing thread, they were doing some plum-, cranberry-, and peanut-finished berkshires for a while. The cheesemonger at Feast the other day mentioned that he heard they were only doing peanut-fed as a special offering these days, but it's worth asking about.

-Dan

Habibi wrote:I want to order and prepare a whole country ham this Christmas, preferrably a Benton's.

Any recommendations on how to prepare it? My initial thoughts were to soak for 1-2 days to remove some of the salt, and then bake (with or without crust). Does anyone have experience with this?

Any country ham no matter how you scrub, soak and prepare will be salty to your palate, it's simply something from another era. Any will sufice and they are all different.
There is a fat layer over most of the ham and soaking no matter how long, does much good in removing the salt. If you could trim away the fat and then soak, it might help but when so dry it would be difficult discerning the fat/meat boundary.
If you like it very smoky, a Gwaltney from Smithfield is the best.
Scott's, Benton's, Rice's, for the least salt but still salty, Rice's but there is a limited supply.
Prepared whole, it's really a matter of having a large vessel and getting it out of the pot after cooking as they will fall apart after a certain cooking time and come out in pieces. Tenting and cooking in your oven with water added will solve that problem at the expense of a saltier taste.
I've been cooking them for over 40 years and none of the family or anyone else that has come to the dinners, particularly cares for the salt level, so I started purchasing them sliced in vaccum packs that I can use but it's not the same as cooking whole in a pot or in an oven.-Dick

stacy lunardini wrote:Has anyone tried Johnston County "prosciutto-style" Country Ham? It is currently available (whole) at Costco for a decent price, but I am not familiar with the country ham style of domestic prosciutto. I have tasted La Quercia. Not sure how the style will differ.

Thanks.

Speaking of salt content, I realized i never replied to the above quote. Over the past year or so I've ordered a couple Johnston County "prosciutto style hams" from costco at $49.99 including shipping. In comparison to the 3 hams which dan, mark and I split, the Johnston lacked some of that rustic character. It was milder on the funk, smoke, and salt, but still had a subtle prosciutto-type funk to it. In fact, yes it is the more like a prosciutto than the others I've tried. I actually recently brought some to a party on a charcuterie try, among other country hams, and despite the fact that I told people that they were all country hams, multiple people assumed the Johnston County was prosciutto until i told them otherwise.

On the salt issue, the Johnston County from costco was the least salty of the 4 I've had. That is not to say it isn't salty... it is still a country ham. At the price, it is a tremendous value, and as long as they keep offering the deal, I'll keep one hanging in my pantry at all times for those emergency ham needs.

Just thought I would add another name to the list of Ham makers. I really like the offerings from Fathers Country Ham from Bremen Ky.

Also I like to buy a whole side of the Hickory smoked bacon to keep on hand finding it one of the most flavorful, smoky bacons around, right up there with Benton's. Not sure how any of the specality bacons are as I wouldn't ever order them for myself.

I also love the smoked sausage they make and sell. Nothing like a ready to eat smoked sausage but a coarse country style sausage stuffed into a burlap casing and then cold smoked. Makes an amazing sausage gravy!

I'll be ordering mine later this afternoon.

Regards,

Bourbon

laikom wrote:...emergency ham needs.

I'd like to think that my cell phone number is on several people's speed dial for times like that.

-Dan

laikom wrote:

stacy lunardini wrote:Has anyone tried Johnston County "prosciutto-style" Country Ham? It is currently available (whole) at Costco for a decent price, but I am not familiar with the country ham style of domestic prosciutto. I have tasted La Quercia. Not sure how the style will differ.

Thanks.

Speaking of salt content, I realized i never replied to the above quote. Over the past year or so I've ordered a couple Johnston County "prosciutto style hams" from costco at $49.99 including shipping. In comparison to the 3 hams which dan, mark and I split, the Johnston lacked some of that rustic character. It was milder on the funk, smoke, and salt, but still had a subtle prosciutto-type funk to it. In fact, yes it is the more like a prosciutto than the others I've tried. I actually recently brought some to a party on a charcuterie try, among other country hams, and despite the fact that I told people that they were all country hams, multiple people assumed the Johnston County was prosciutto until i told them otherwise.

On the salt issue, the Johnston County from costco was the least salty of the 4 I've had. That is not to say it isn't salty... it is still a country ham. At the price, it is a tremendous value, and as long as they keep offering the deal, I'll keep one hanging in my pantry at all times for those emergency ham needs.

Thanks for the heads up on this. I very likely will have to pick up one of these soon. I'm guessing you'd recommend eating this one raw?

fropones wrote:Thanks for the heads up on this. I very likely will have to pick up one of these soon. I'm guessing you'd recommend eating this one raw?

Eating it raw is delicious, but don't hesitate to cook up some slices to eat on a biscuit or throw in any recipe that calls for ham. Make up a red eye gravy, the coffee and brown sugar really helps balance the salt content.

Also, I doubt you literally meant you'd pick one up, but they are only available online.

Dan,

You're right, Surry hams are made to be eaten UNcooked. My brother lives in Winchester, where he has easy access, so I get anice mess o' Surry bits every Christmas. Oh yum!

Geo

Hi,

Does anyone know of country ham sources from Louisianna or Texas, which can be purchased in the Chicago area? Or if it was mail ordered, who is your preferred source?

Regards,

Cathy2 wrote:Hi,

Does anyone know of country ham sources from Louisianna or Texas, which can be purchased in the Chicago area? Or if it was mail ordered, who is your preferred source?

Regards,

Why Texas or Louisiana? I really cannot remember seeing a lot of country hams from teh area when I have been at butcher shops.

My favorite is the Gwaltney Ham from Suffolk, VA.

Hi,

A friend is doing a theme dinner of foods from this region. From re-reading this thread, there was nothing really discussed much further south than Kentucky or Missouri.

Regards,

Cathy2 wrote:Hi,

A friend is doing a theme dinner of foods from this region. From re-reading this thread, there was nothing really discussed much further south than Kentucky or Missouri.

Regards,

She should be looking at something like Tasso...

Hi,

That's an interesting idea to use tasso. I see it is more a cooking ham than an eating ham, would you eat it as-is?

Regards,

Nope--it's not really something you'd eat a slab of but that's the only non-sausage pork product I really associate with that area. Really more like a country bacon than ham though.

I was just reading Modernist Cooking made easy who suggested:

The cooking process also allows this to have a heavy smoke taste. Its smell is likewise smoky and peppery. This is considered a delicacy and can be eaten alone when sliced thinly. The more common use for it is as a form of seasoning for soups, vegetables, gumbo, red beans, jambalaya and rice.

Thinly sliced on biscuits?

Thanks for suggesting tasso, it wasn't even being thought of until you suggested it.

Regards,