2.25 lb 3-Pack | Authentic Blue Ridge Mountain Dry-Cured | 12 oz Vaccum Packed Center & End Cuts of Robust Southern Flavor

Don't buy this product if you don't like country ham or don't want to try one. Country ham is an old-fashioned salt-cured ham; that makes the meat salty and drier, therefore much less tender than your typical grocery store ham that is pumped full of water and cured in a different way. You can use the suggestions in these reviews to reduce the salt (like soaking it in water before using) if that's a problem for you. FYI: Ray's the least salty brand of authentic country ham that we've tried. You have to take the lack of water content into account in looking at the price; removing most of the moisture means that you aren't paying for water, as you could be if you bought a regular ham. The concentration of flavor in this kind of ham is amazing. True country ham is not that easy to find on the West Coast. Being able to get this from Amazon is wonderful. Getting it in packets of slices is even better, because It's hard to use up an entire country ham while it's at its peak. Most of the time, we cook up one slice at a time and use it differently than many people reviewing the product. We mince or dice about an ounce of that slice at a time over about a week and use it in many different dishes: almost any vegetable dish, rice (fried or steamed), stir fry dishes, poultry stuffing. A little bit adds a huge amount of flavor. Often, we use the ham instead of salt in a recipe - the whole dish ends up with just the right amount of saltiness, whereas using both the salt called for an in the recipe and this ham might be too much.

I know if you arent familiar with county ham it may be a bit of a shock when you try it. Its salty and doesnt taste like commercial hams. If you are ne to country ham, try it with biscuits and eggs first. They will soften the distinctive salty flavor. But Ive had home made hanging-hams from barns and miss them! If you' re curious about country ham, look up how its created online. This is real food. R.E.A.L. food. But for me, omg... I loved it. I immediately made it for "breakfast for dinner" with 2 eggs over easy and toast with butter and cherry jam. Its salty, chewy, flavorful! I like to fry it in strips til just a little browned. I couldnt be happier, I bought 3 packages and put 2 away in the freezer for mid winter when I will really enjoy it even more with a side of beans and cornbread.

I love country ham and I know country ham. My family used to cure their own country hams, so to say I am picky about country ham, is putting it mildly. I still remember the last ham my granddaddy cured back in 1962 nestled in one of grandmomma's biscuits. I am always leery about purchasing a brand that I have not tried before. With a few exceptions, most just taste salty with extra salt crystals even packed between the slices. To get a good flavor in country ham takes time. Ray's evidently takes that time. I purchased the 2 1/4 lb. pack. I opened one 12 oz. pack and noticed no salt between the slices. I put it in a pan, poured a bit of black coffee over it, covered and baked it in a hot oven for about 15 minutes. I was delighted with that first bite. Really excellent flavor and lots of tasty red eye gravy. I have already ordered the 10 lb. ready to bake Ray's for the holidays. I just wish I had found them sooner.

I wondered why reviews talked about how thin the slices were. When I opened the package, I saw why. Each pak had 3 very thin slices instead of one thicker slice. I loved the taste. Also, was apprehensive when I smelled the slices, but I put a small amount in the microwave, and tasted it. It was great. Chopped up a pak, and added to the beans I was cooking. Wonderful, salty ham.

We got the package over a week ago but just finally got to cooking it today. We did a full southern breakfast - in addition to the country ham we had Wright Hickory bacon, Swaggerty's sausage, biscuits with my homemade gravy, scrambled cheesy eggs and fries. Im pretty sure it shortened my life but wow, what a meal! The Ray's country ham was definitely the show piece. My son had never had any country ham (growing up in MI there wasn't much opportunity for him to try it) and it was instant love! He snacked on it most of the day. I cooked the ham up longer than instructed, putting a golden color on it and giving the fat a slight crisp. It's got a traditional salt flavor that isnt overpowering. Delicious! The pieces are a little thin just like some people had complained about but they aren't exceptionally thin. I was satisfied with the quantity and size of the center cut slices. I would recommend this to anyone that is a fan of country ham and if you haven't had it before, you should give it a try.

We received this ham excited about cooking it. Opened to cook & it smelled like throw up! Never in my life would I imagine this smelling so bad! Cooked 1 just to see & took 1 bite & spit it out! The house smells horrible!!

The ham arrived. For breakfast I sliced one piece into 4 pieces and removed some of the fat on edges. After a couple hours in warm water it removes at least 60-75% of the salt which I don't like or need. The secret is cooking in a frying pan with an inch or so of water almost boiling for at least 30 minutes until the water is almost out. Then you rinse it quickly, return to pan with no water and add a touch of olive oil. Then resume to fry and brown lightly. This is the key. I am from NC and my family did it this way. It was so delicious it almost brought a tear to my eye to go with my homeaded buttermilk WHITE LILY buscuits I made. If you don't cook it this way, you shouldn't complain about saltiness and/or tougness. Country ham is always a bit tough, its part of the experience of eating it! T.McDonald

The ham is sliced about 1/8 inch thick which is too thin for a country ham. My preference is 1/4 inch. This is real country ham and it taste like it. It is of a very good qualiity and those writing reviews that say otherwise don't know what country ham is supposed to be like. It is salty but country ham is cured in salt so you would expect that.