Country ham is America's own dry-cured ham: salt-cured, often hickory-smoked, and aged for months to over a year until it's deep red and intensely savory, closer to prosciutto than to the wet pink 'ham' in plastic. It's a Southern tradition kept alive by a handful of family smokehouses. These are the names chefs order from.
Published July 2026 · Updated 7 Jul 2026
Allan Benton's Tennessee smokehouse, family-run since 1947, salt-cures its hams and bacon and hickory-smokes them hard, aging 9 to 10 months or well beyond. It's the ham and bacon a generation of chefs put on the map, shipped anywhere in the US.
Why it isn't on AmazonA single family's slow-cured, heavily-smoked country ham is a specific, uncopyable thing; Benton's ships the real article rather than the injected supermarket imitation.
See it at Benton's Smoky Mountain Country Hams →A Kentucky smokehouse curing hams the same family way for generations (salt, brown sugar, hickory smoke) with each ham handled 18 times before it's packed and shipped by UPS. Their aged ham and prosciutto rank among the finest dry-cured hams made anywhere.
Why it isn't on AmazonThis is small-batch, ambient-aged country ham from one Princeton smokehouse; there's no industrial shortcut and no grocery equivalent.
See it at Col. Bill Newsom's Aged Kentucky Country Ham →The Edwards family has cured Virginia ham since 1926; their Surryano, dry-cured from heritage-breed hogs, hickory-smoked, and aged over 400 days, was built as an American answer to Europe's great dry-cured hams. Ordered direct and shipped nationwide.
Why it isn't on AmazonA 400-day-aged ham from pasture-raised heritage hogs is a years-long commitment no commodity producer makes; Edwards ships whole muscles you simply can't find at retail.
See it at Edwards Virginia Smokehouse →This seat's open on purpose — we won't pad the list to hit a number. If you ship real country ham & cured whole muscle direct, it's earned, not sold.
Add your brand →Regular 'city' ham is wet-cured in brine and fully cooked, staying pink, mild, and moist. Country ham is dry-cured with salt, often smoked, and aged for months, which draws out moisture and concentrates it into a firm, deep-red, intensely salty-savory meat. They're barely the same food.
It depends on the cut. Ham aged long enough (like Newsom's or the Surryano) can be sliced paper-thin and eaten uncooked like prosciutto. Traditional biscuit-ham slices are usually fried or simmered, and a whole cooking ham is soaked and baked. Check what each maker's product is meant for.
Salt is the cure; it's what preserves the ham through months of aging without refrigeration. For cooking hams and thicker slices, soaking in water (changing it a few times over several hours or overnight) pulls out a good bit of salt. Thin-sliced aged ham you just eat as is, in small amounts.
An uncut, aged country ham is shelf-stable and can hang at room temperature (the cure protects it), though many people refrigerate for peace of mind. Once you cut into it, wrap it and keep it cold. Surface mold on an aged ham is normal; scrub it off with a vinegar-dampened cloth.
Make or grow real country ham & cured whole muscle and think you belong here? Tell us → — features are on merit, never for sale.
Some "see it at…" links are affiliate links — if you buy through one, 5best2buy may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. It never costs the maker anything, and it never decides who makes the list. The list is the list.
© 2026 5best2buy · Worth The Hunt · No.312