<p>When relatives moved to metro Washington DC late last year, I thought that it would mean frequent opportunties for me to visit and pick up some cured (and salty, yes I know) Virginia ham, the Smithfield variety. Also called ‘American Proscuitto’ by some folks, har har.</p>
<p>Imagine my surprise when I could not find any Smithfield hams in northern Virginia stores. I ran all over Fairfax looking in supermarkets for the stuff. Went as far south as Manassas, but no luck. A cashier and store manager in Manassas looked at me as if they had no idea what I was talking about. What’s the deal? Is Northern Virginia too urbane to sell country ham? Do the all those Yankees and other transplants in NoVA have no taste for cured country ham? Do I have to drive all the way to Smithfield on my next visit to VA? There’s got to be some place in Fairfax County/Fairfax City where I can get a Smithfield or other southern country ham. Right?</p>
<p>Did you ask at the deli counters? It is expensive and is not usually out with the rest except at holidays. Most people now want the honey or sugared hams so the major chains stock those. You might try the specialty stores like Balducci’s .</p>
<p>Sorry you had a hard time. I doubt the influx of yankees have had anything to do with your shopping opportunities. We could blame them, but then we’d have to give up Wegman’s and that’s not something I’m willing to do! :)</p>
<p>I went to the Smithfield website and found a link to enter your zipcode and find retailers…22032 is in Fairfax, VA. </p>
<p>I did hit several retailers. Not sure if you tried any listed. Anyway, you may try the contact on the website and let them know what product you are looking for so they can point you in the right direction. Often when a retailer says they carry a brand it may be a very narrow offering.</p>
<p>I just went through a similar experience looking for Cains mayonnaise. While Hellman’s is fine for sandwiches, I refuse to make coleslaw, macaroni or tater salad with anything else. Cains just has that extra tang that is perfect for those dishes.</p>
<p>Neither Stop & Shop or Shoprite, the two major chains here have it. The aggravating part is that it is produced in Massachusetts. It was a staple on all the grocery store shelves here till recently. Same goes for the “One Pie” brand fillings. Produced in Maine, hard as the dickens to find here.</p>
<p>No problem LW. I am pretty sympathetic about regional availability (or UNavailability) of some products. We’ve been known to cart cases of Canada-Dry (made by Dr Pepper/7-Up) to Atlanta, where if it’s not Coca-Cola, you are NOT going to get it!</p>
<p>Seeing that the thread is already off track, let me add another one. When I first moved to NC I couldn’t get Purdue chicken. Purdue chicken is located in NC, in fact there is a Purdue factory right across the street from the grocery store. What? Eventually they did start selling it at the store (after a couple of years), but I could never really figure that one out.</p>
<p>Perdue may have had a factory in NC, but I believe company HQ and a major processing plant remain in Maryland.</p>
<p>Back to the topic at hand. I checked the Smithfield website. Sad to say, various varieties nowadays are called 'Smithfield ham," including wet cured, sugar cured etc. I’m looking for the original salt/dry cured country ham. A quick reading a a couple of old NY Times articles revealed that only about 10% of all the ham produced by the Smithfield corporation are true original style salt-cured Smithfield hams. There are smaller producers in other parts of southern Virginia and in North Carolina. There are online sources, too. Like Singersmom said, the stuff is expensive. Gone are the days when I was a grad student in Virginia when cured country ham could be had in their famous cloth sacks at the Red Lion Supermarket for 70 cents a pound. I even bought one at a Walmart in NC for $1.25 a pound in 2005.</p>
<p>Thanks for educating me LakeWashington. Our govenor is a Perdue. I just assumed with the factory that it was an NC HQ. I do believe I’ve seen the hams you’re looking for, at least at holiday times.</p>
<p>Packages of sliced country ham are not refridgerated and are generally not displayed in the cold sections with the other ham. Even in Carolina grocery stores, you have to look around for it.</p>
<p>Cracker Barrel restaurants all sell packaged country ham. Their’s is pretty good. Thick sliced. Yummy. I recommend it. This means, that I can actually buy country ham in New Hampshire! What will they think of next? We always used to drive home from South Carolina with a year’s supply of ham. Now I don’t have to because Cracker Barrel is on the way to the Manchester airport!</p>
<p>It is American proscuitto. Same basic product, although the Italian Parma product is not as heavily salted.</p>
<p>“Socialized medicine” is one thing, but now the dad-blame bureaucrats in Washington are making noises about banning country ham or putting a cap on the salt content of cured ham. That’s taking it too far. I predict armed revolution in the streets if they try to take away our country ham. That’s one of the things in the Constuition, isn’t it?</p>
<p>LakeWashington, I live in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia and the ham you describe is usually readily available in our smaller local supermarkets. Sliced or larger pieces. Whole hams are usually only available closer to the holidays. </p>
<p>If you’d like a trip, I’d be glad to check prices for you and PM you with some details. It’s a nice drive and you can hit the nearby Book Fair while visiting.</p>