Make Magazine, a publication dedicated to the world of producers, tinkerers and innovators, held an online live-stream interview with American ham makers, including third generation Cure-Master Sam Edwards III, to learn about the art of “handcrafted country hams.” Continue reading →

It’s 9:30 a.m. The scion of S. Wallace Edwards & Sons is not at his desk. Nope. S. Wallace Edwards III is next door at the plant, wrist-deep in sausage. Wearing khakis, a white lab coat and company ball cap, he stands in one corner of a cavernous room flanked by a pair of deep sinks and a stainless steel table. Scores of Virginia country hams dangle from rolling, wooden racks at the back of the room, each voluptuous hunk cured to mahogany and gold in time for the Easter rush. The air smells faintly of bacon and hickory smoke. This morning, the company’s mustachioed president is focused on a perennial problem: how to turn a profit from literally tons of country ham scraps, delicious debris left after the 86-year-old company’s signature products are deboned and dispatched to customers across the country. Continue reading →

From Formaggio Kitchen:

“We keep an impressive pile of cured pork legs in the shop. The Italian prosciutto and Spanish jamón are justifiably well-known. Also nestled in there, however, are two domestic treats that I advise you not to miss: Mangalitsa and Red Wattle hams. The latter is particularly American, hailing from a centuries-old tradition of pork curing in Surry County, Virginia. Continue reading →

In a slideshow of gift ideas for “him,” Woman’s Day features Edwards Virginia Sausage Links: It’s the season for pigging out. Shelf-stable for up to 10 days (includes shipping time), these sausages can go under the tree. Smoked Sausage Links, $42.95 for two 2-lb … Continue reading →