Originally Posted by
RayClem
Ah, you are making me homesick. I spent over 40 years of my life in Virginia, less than 100 miles from Smithfield.
The thing that makes Virginia hams so special is that the hogs are fed peanuts as their primary food. In most other places, corn is the staple. The best hams are smoked and dry cured. A dry cured ham is packed in dry salt until the salt pulls nearly all the moisture from the ham. That is why they have to be soaked before you cook it.
Here in the Chicago area, most of the hams available are either brine cured or sugar cured. They taste OK, but they have neither the texture, nor the flavor, of a good dry cured Virginia peanut fed ham.
I had a coworker who originally came from Wisconsin. When she moved to Virginia, she purchased her parents an expensive dry cured Virginia ham for Christmas. When her parents unwrapped the ham, they found mold on the outside of the ham and threw the ham in the garbage, thinking it was spoiled. They did not realize that the mold, along with the salt, protects the meat from spoiling. You have to scrub the ham with a stiff brush to remove the mold.
I certainly hope you enjoy your Smithfield ham this Easter. That ham traveled a long way from Smithfield to Walla Walla just to bring joy to your mouth and a smile to your face. Just be sure to slice it paper thin. For best results, your carving knife needs to be honed as sharp as your razor.