Country ham has roots in eastern North Carolina

Southerners savor their country ham. The salty, seasoned “hind leg of pig” remains a bit of a regional delight, according to famous kitchen brothers Matt and Ted Lee of Charleston, S.C. 

“Country ham is a wonderful thing – cured in salt, sugar and seasonings…then left to age in a dry environment for months,” the Lees said. “During that time, the meat is transformed into “a transcendently delicious, rosy ham that’s super-concentrated…and very salty.” 

Country ham is a far different creature from “‘city ham,’ the pink supermarket staple familiar to most Americans.”

 Country ham is the original American ham, dating back to the days of the North Carolina and Virginia colonies. Pigs were slaughtered in the winter when the cold temperatures would help preserve the meat as it cured. 

Second generation curemaster Rufus Brown at Johnston County Hams in Smithfield, N.C., was interviewed recently for an oral history project associated with the University of Mississippi. 

Brown described the process: The initial stage is salting. “Each ham is hand-rubbed with salt twice and rotated top to bottom. Hams stay in the salt room for 42 to 45 days at 38 degrees,” he said. 

“You have to have 4% salt concentration to be called a ‘country ham,’ and ours have always ranged on the low end, 4 or 5%. Some other hams can skyrocket up to 10%, which is real briny.” 

Next, Brown said, “when the hams are ready, we bring them out to wash them down, and we put them in stocking nets and hang them with the shank down. We move them into an ‘equalization room,’ which is maintained at 50 degrees.” 

It takes about two weeks for the salt to “equalize throughout the tissues.” (A little smoke generated by burning hickory wood chips may be injected into the room for a brief period to introduce distinctive flavors that make country ham unique.) 

After equalization, hams are ready to be aged for flavor development. The aging room is maintained at 80 degrees. The minimum aging period is about 45 days. 

“Country ham is not something that you can rush,” Brown said. “You just wait it out.” 

In 2015, the Tasting Table social media site celebrated “traditions that make Southern food so special.” Justin Kennedy reported that one of Tasting Table’s five favorite country hams was Johnston County Hams’ Curemaster’s Reserve. 

“Rufus Brown creates country hams that are quickly becoming recognized among the world’s best,” Kennedy wrote. 

“In particular, his Curemaster’s Reserve hams are worth seeking out for their silky, delicate smoothness and pristine, earthy flavors – simply unparalleled among American cured hams,” Kennedy opined. 

Who was the first cook to slice open a piping hot biscuit and insert a slab of country ham? 

Historians say the late Edna Lewis (1916-2006), an admired African-American chef and cookbook author, described making country ham biscuits in her hometown of Freetown, Va., near Charlottesville. 

The community was formed after the Civil War by freed former slaves, including Edna Lewis’ grandparents. 

Country ham biscuits were always served at Sunday Revival, and Lewis said that each one contained a “flannel-soft, thin slice of ham.”

 

Don’t underestimate the importance of the biscuit. Editors of Garden & Gun magazine, based in Charleston, S.C., have two favorite gristmills in North Carolina. One is Sanford Milling Company, based in Henderson in Vance County. Its premier brand is Snow Flake Short Patent Self-Rising Flour. 

The other is Boonville Flour & Feed Mill in Yadkin County, which produces Our Best Bleached Self-Rising Flour.