Country ham is a variety of cured ham, typically very salty. Country ham is first mentioned in print in 1944, referring to a method of curing and smoking done in the rural parts of North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, Georgia, Kentucky and other nearby Southern states. Virginia ham is a country ham produced in Virginia (including the more-precisely-defined Smithfield ham); whereas "VA Style" refers to a curing style, not a location.
== Production ==
Country hams are salt-cured (and occasionally nitrite- and nitrate-cured) for one to three months. They may be hardwood (usua...