Cured Hams (Country Hams)

I’ve saved the best for last, because ham, however good it may be, doesn’t reach celestial heights when it is cooked. Cured hams, called country hams in the United States, are wet-cured by soaking in brine, dry-cured by rubbing with salt, or cured first with dry salt and later in the process with brine. The best hams are dry-cured and are allowed to dry in the open air. Prosciutto di Parma must be made in the region of Parma, be dry-cured with salt and no Chemicals, such as nitrites, and be hung in the open air to age for at least 300 days. Prosciutto di San Daniele and Serrano hams are cured in a similar way and have a delicate character of their own. The USDA requires prosciutto that’s imported into the United States to be aged for 400 days. The best ham I’ve ever tasted is Serrano ham from Spain, which happily is now being imported into the United States, though at rather daunting prices. Authentic dry-cured French hams such as jambon de Bayonne and hams from the Morvan (a region near Burgundy) are not yet sold in the United States.