PIG!!!

Not just any pig...

After a year of testing and a year in cure, we can finally announce the
arrival of cured Heritage hams from a 3rd generation curer in Virginia. While
the hams taste like Serrano hams from Spain, the Edwards family has chosen the
name Surry-ano for their product since they are produced in the town of Surry.
Edwards' Heritage Cured Ham is a beacon of culinary culture in this country. The
taste of this product is equal to the finest cured meats of Italy and Spain and
even the thinnest slice engulfs your mouth with the sharp taste of a world class
cured meat.
With time this ham acquires a more intense flavor and becomes
harder but it never spoils and does not need refrigeration. The raw ingredient
(fresh ham legs) comes from Heritage Foods USA and its primary pork producer,
Mark Newman, from Myrtle Missouri. Mark's pigs are Certified Humane and are
among the only 100% Six-Spotted Berkshires raised 100% on pasture in the United
States. Every order placed with us will come from Newman Farm pigs.
The
curing process begins by packing the ham in a special salt by hand. The salt
crystals are shaped in such a way that they don't fall off during the cure. Five
days later the hams are cleaned and rubbed again with more salt where they
remain covered for another 25 days. The excess salt is then removed, and the
hams are put in netting and hung on wooden racks in the 'Spring-Time Room'? for
21 days. This room fluctuates between 45 and 50 degrees with 80% humidity,
keeping the product moist. The hams are then placed in the Smokehouse where the
temperature is gradually raised to 85 degrees over the course of 3 days. At this
point a fire is lit just outside the Smokehouse using hickory wood and the smoke
is blown onto the hams 24 hours a day for about 7 days and stops when the ham
acquires a lovely mahogany color. They are then moved to the Aging Room, which
is kept at 83 degrees. They stay here for a minimum of 11 months but as many as
20 months. www.heritagefoodsusa.com

Tastes like... well like food is ment to taste.