A Kentucky Ham Tradition Endures, From the Back of a Truck.

[elleng]

*No one was saying it out loud, but it was understood that this day signified either the passing of the torch to the next generation or the end of a tradition.

Country hams have been a part of life in and around the Appalachians since the first Europeans settled here and brought with them Old World techniques for preserving meat through the winter. And for more than 70 years, the Bryant family’s hams have been holiday staples around here, even though they’re made in Trigg County, where there are more famous producers of country hams, large and small.

On Freddie’s watch, the Bryant hams have attracted devoted fans from all over the country, including governors of Kentucky and country-music stars like John Anderson.

Unlike city hams, which are wet-cured in a brine, country hams are dry-cured with salt. The Bryant family’s hams sit in a wooden salt box for 21 days, dry-rubbed with red and black pepper, and are then hung from ceiling hooks and smoked at a low temperature amid hickory and sassafras wood for as long as five weeks. They develop a rich red mahogany color, and then age for about a year in the unheated, uninsulated smokehouse.'>>>

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/19/dining/kentucky-country-ham-freddie-bryant-family.html?

[no_hypocrisy]

1. When I visited West Virginia, part of my sojourn was to find a real ham.

I found in the heart of the country several places that cure ham and store hams -- underground. Like caves carved out of a hill.

Having found Ham Heaven, I bought four of those beauties. They aren't close to Smithfield. You have to soak then scrub off the layers of kosher salt before you even turn on the oven.

It's worth the pilgrimage.

[dem in texas]

2. Oh My, brings back memories

We used to live near Murray, KY. I remember those salt and air cured hams. For Christmas dinner, some of our neighbors would cook them outside by boiling them in water in a cast iron kettle or in a barrel, over an open fire. Lots of whiskey drinking would go on around the boiling kettle. My late mother-in-law would have several of those lovely hams hanging in her smoke house.