Bonnie: When I think country-style ham, I think southerners. They certainly love their country-style ham served with biscuits and red-eye gravy. That isn’t “gravy” as we know it: It’s just a thickened sauce usually made from ham drippings and black coffee. When in the South…I’ve indulged, having that holy trinity at various places in Kentucky and at the landmark Loveless Cafe on Highway 100 in Nashville, TN, known for that breakfast.

I can’t start my day with that too often, but I can indulge in Edwards country-style, hickey-smoked, ham as I use it more as a condiment. Think of it as a salty addition to flavor various dishes.

Edwards ham — created in the family’s Surry, VA, smokehouses — is thinly sliced, ready to serve at room temperature or warm gently in an oven or skillet. Just be careful not to overheat, or it or will dry out. Once opened, the sliced ham can keep up to eight weeks refrigerated.

My suggested uses include:

  • Added to the dough of homemade biscuits or cheese puffs
  • Added to omelets or stirred into scrambled eggs
  • Added to potatoes au gratin
  • Sandwiched in a biscuit
  • In quiche Lorraine
  • In fried rice
  • In hash browns
  • In baked beans
  • In eggs Benedict
  • On a pizza
  • In a classic ham, Cubano or muffulleta sandwich
  • In macaroni and cheese or other noodle casseroles
  • In split pea or other bean soups.

Bryan: I’ve never really been a big fan of ham, and I don’t know if I’ll ever really be won over by the saltiest of meats, to be honest. It’s not that I can’t enjoy a quality slice of ham if it happens to be served to me: It’s just never something I’d ask for on my own or look forward to eating. I don’t know if I’m in a small minority on this one, but I do know that there are countless families throughout the U.S. who would strongly disagree with my sentiment.

Pork itself is a very popular food product; heck, it is “the other white meat.” But pork is a completely different subject to me. Pork I love, and so does the world. In the United States alone, pork is consumed at nearly 60 pounds per person, per year.

Amazingly, we rank third in the world, well behind the European Union at second, and China at first with almost 90 pounds per person!

Though I fully support many forms of pork, from tenderloin to chorizo, a traditional ham is going to have to impress me profoundly to inspire any eating renaissance. What is it about ham that doesn’t fly with me? Well, it’s the in-your-face saltiness that overwhelms me, especially in large, glazed slabs — as hams are often served. I find it is only good as a flavoring in other dishes like pea soup, rather than the focus of the dish. Though ham is certainly the central focus of many family meals, and still one of the most popular holiday centerpieces for Christmas and Easter, it’s this type of meal that I will never like.

But then there are always surprises, and I was just surprised by slices of Edwards country ham, more akin to prosciutto (which I love) than the traditional ham of my youthful experience.

Virginia ham is probably the original salt-cured country ham. It is generally dry-smoked as well as salt-cured. Country hams are very dense, rich and salty, something I can’t handle en masse but find I enjoy served thin as accoutrement.

Country ham refers to a method of curing and smoking done in the rural sections of Tennessee, Virginia, Georgia, Kentucky and nearby states. Virginia ham is a country ham traditionally produced in Virginia, though “Virginia Style” nowadays refers to a curing style, not a location. I must say that the Edwards slices did surprise me. I’m not won over yet to ham, but it is good. If I had to choose a ham to eat, this is in my top slot.

Eric: This is not the ham Dr. Seuss was looking to pair with green eggs – in fact the Edwards Cooked Virginia Ham slices are more reminiscent of prosciutto or Parma ham than the traditional country ham cooked for most holidays. And although we compare it to the thinly sliced Italian version, I wouldn’t recommend making a sandwich with it; the salt content might be too overwhelming. Rather, think of the ham slice as a flavor enhancer, interchangeable with that other glorious meat from the pig: bacon. There’s a reason it was called Green Eggs & Ham.