Virginia ham, also known as country ham, is a dry-cured ham that can be sold cured but uncooked, fully cooked and sliced, or smoked. It is traditionally quite salty due to salt curing, which removes moisture and slows down oxidation. Virginia ham is commonly served on holidays and as a breakfast meat. It is best eaten in small quantities and is popular during Thanksgiving and Christmas. Virginia ham refers to a ham cured in a specific region of the US, while “VA Style” hams are similarly cured but not necessarily from Virginia.
A Virginia ham is another name for a country ham. Country hams are often sold cured but uncooked, which preserves the ham and allows it to be kept unrefrigerated. They can also be sold fully cooked and sliced or smoked. This specific type of dry-cured ham was invented in the mid-1900s, and there is a difference between Virginia hams and Virginia-style hams. Virginia ham slices are commonly served on certain holidays and as a breakfast meat.
Country hams are traditionally quite salty because they are salty. Salt curing simply involves coating a meat with salt, which removes moisture and slows down the oxidation process. This is an ancient method of curing meat that was mainly used until the 1900s. In modern times, there are different methods of preserving meat, such as using different types of preservatives or freezing the meat. After being salted, the ham is wrapped in parchment and stuffed into sausages, then sold to consumers.
In most cases, a whole Virginia ham is just cured rather than cooked. Sometimes the ham is also smoked or comes in multiple varieties. Sliced and cooked Virginia ham can also be found in some grocery stores. When sold in pre-cooked slices, Virginia ham is typically cut into ham steaks. Ham steaks are thick, round slices that more closely resemble steaks than a regular slice of sandwich meat.
A Virginia ham is simply a country ham that is cured in a specific region of the United States. On the other hand, a Virginia ham refers to how the ham was cooked rather than where. A ham branded “VA Style” is still a similarly cured country ham, but it was probably not cured in Virginia. They are sometimes marked this way to be more recognizable to people who know country hams as Virginia hams, even though they are one and the same.
Country hams are usually cooked in the oven, but can also be fried. In the United States, a country where Virginia ham is most popular during holidays such as Thanksgiving and Christmas. For example, on these holidays a ham may be served alongside a turkey, although some families choose one meat to cook rather than cooking both. Ham is also sometimes served as a breakfast meat along with eggs, fruit, or coffee. This type of ham is a bit salty to use as a sandwich meat and is best suited to be eaten in small quantities.
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