Rays Country Ham Review

Now every one in my house loves any type of ham. And today I get the honor of making a Country Ham from "Rays". Located in Mount Airy, North Carolina. But before I tell you about my meal, and all the other great info, about the Country Ham. Let me share with you the history of "Rays" Country Ham company. Another company that is so rich in history, and creating great products.

This company is a, 75-YEAR-OLD FAMILY TRADITION Ray and Geneva Goad opened their first Ray 's Restaurant at the end of the Second World War. Ray was the innovator of fast food breakfast and the first to serve country ham and sausage biscuits. Ray 's Breakfast Biscuits have become the foundation for much of America's breakfast menu today. Ray 's brand and legacy are still maintained by his father, Ray 's fresh air-cured Blue Ridge Mountain Country Ham, in an original style produced by the typical practices of the Appalachian family farms. Thin Sliced for tenderness and shelf-safe vacuum packed for convenience.

These traditions are still alive today in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. Only a few families have kept going to perfect dry curing with modern food scientific knowledge that boost the natural curing process by repeating the annual seasons of Winter , Spring, Summer and Fall, creating a distinct flavor that can only be described as Ray's Country Ham.

Now if you did not know, Country hams are radically different from their most common cousin, the wet-cured ham. One of the most recognizable tastes of Country Ham is the salty taste. But, Ray blends this with the unique flavors located only in Blue Ridge Mountain Country Ham "Country!

So for dinner I called the entire family to sit around the table and enjoy this wonderful country ham meal, using my "Rays Country Ham".

Now as far as cooking, there wasn't much to it. My ham was specially selected for me from "Rays Country Ham", and was ready to bake. It came with its own self basting bag, how easy did Rays make it! My ham is considered a ready to bake ham, and I did not have to do any pre soaking. Now if I wanted to I could have soaked it, which would have taken me twenty four to thirty six hours, to reduce the saltiness. But with the glaze I am making I chose not to presoak.

Now I did make some scores on my ham, I wanted my glaze to seep all the way in. When I was ready, all I did was glaze the ham, put it into the roasting bag, and into my roasting pan, then into the oven at 325 degrees. Now its so cool because "Rays Country Ham", even sends you directions on how to cook your country ham in his roasting bag. And to do this, you add one teaspoon of flour to it and shake. This prevents the bag from breaking when its roasting. And makes clean up so easy.

I roasted my ham for two and a half hours. When my ham was done, I took it out of the pan and the bag and transferred it to a serving platter, with help, this ham was huge. Then I glazed it with the rest of my bourbon and brown sugar glaze and let it rest for twenty minutes.

The end result, FANTASTIC! It is so true this does not taste like your typical ham. The flavors have a unique distinction about them. The taste is so good, and mouth watering, even while cooking, the house was filled with fantastic aromas. Everyone's jaw just dropped when they ate it. The taste, the aroma, and texture are unlike anything you will ever taste, if you have never had a Country Ham.

There is no way, this family will eat the entire ham, but I will slice it and bag it into individual servings for any day of the week, for any meal. I know the family will grab some of these bags, for their sandwich's, breakfast, and just to eat it out of the bag. It's all that and more!

Now there is saltiness to the ham, but I made a bourbon and brown sugar glaze that really melded nicely with the saltiness. As far as any other ingredients besides the glaze, all the flavor came from the Country Ham. After tasting "Rays Country Ham", you can see why they have such a legacy. The Country Ham from Rays was even enjoyed by Andy Griffith, how cool is that, to eat the same ham he did!

Another fact about "Rays Country Hams", they are all bone in. Each ham comes in a weight between sixteen to eighteen pounds. So if your cooking it whole, have a muscle man to help you lift it. Each ham is Blue Ridge Mountain Cured, and is even served in Rays restaurants. They are authentic aged, and air cured, Rays style, and are premium quality.

It will truly take you back to a old country farmhouse, sitting in a rocking chair, waiting for Grandmas to finish cooking her Country Ham Sunday dinner.

If you have never tasted a true Country Ham, you have got to visit "RaysCountry Ham", online or even at his restaurant. You don't know what you've been missing.

www.rayscountryham.com

Disclaimer: Momzdailyscoops has personally reviewed the product listed above. Momzdailyscoops has not received any monetary compensation for her review. Momzdailyscoops did receive a free product to try out so Momzdailyscoops could evaluate and use it for her review. Momzdailyscoops thoughts & opinions in this review are unbiased & honest and your opinions may differ.