Rays Country Ham Hocks | 2.5 lb / 4-10 oz Split Hocks | Artisan Smoked, Gluten-Free | Perfect for Breakfast, Stews, BBQ, & Gourmet Cooking

Our naturally aged Country Hams are cured using the same methods that have been employed for generations on the family farms of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Ray and Geneva Goad opened their first restaurant about ten years after Ray's service in the Navy during WWII, with Country Ham and Grannie Goad's Biscuits topping the menu. By 1972, Ray Goad had opened dozens of Kingburgers across Virginia and the Carolinas, serving what was America's first fast food breakfast - Country Ham and Sausage Biscuits.

The tradition of Country Ham harks back to how food was preserved on Appalachian family farms before electricity and refrigeration. Hogs would be butchered in late fall, then naturally cured during the cold winter months. Today, those traditions are maintained in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, where a few facilities owned by descendants of the early American pioneers continue to produce authentic Country Ham.

Ray Jr. and Susan, children of Geneva and Ray Goad, are carrying on the legacy of Ray's Restaurants and the rich traditions of Country Ham for the next generations of their family. They ensure Ray's Country Ham is cured in the same style featured for almost 50 years at the Ray's Starlight Restaurant in Mount Airy, NC, and at the numerous Ray's Kingburgers and Sweet Sue Restaurants across five Mid-Atlantic states.

If you're familiar with the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains, that's where you'll still find us in Mount Airy, North Carolina - the hometown that inspired Andy Griffith's "Mayberry." This is where Ray Goad opened his legendary Ray's Starlight Restaurant in 1962, featuring Country Ham and Granny Goad's Buttermilk Biscuits, the same dish ordered by Andy Griffith and visited by Colonel Harland Sanders.

Our package of Country Ham Hocks consists of four 10-oz split hock ends, naturally dry-cured with salt, pepper, sugar, brown sugar, nitrites, and nitrates, without smoking. These hocks can be safely stored at room temperature until use, then refrigerated like any other perishable product. Ham hocks are an excellent seasoning ingredient for a variety of cooking preparations.

This is not just any ham hock, but one from the authentic Blue Ridge Mountain Cured, naturally air-aged Country Ham of the highest premium quality in Ray's original style. Your Southern cooking recipes will taste even better than your family remembered. For inspiration, visit the Recipes section of our website, with great directions from our renowned Country Cooking experts.

Susan and Ray Jr., the children of Geneva and Ray Goad, are continuing the legacy of Ray's Country Ham that was featured for nearly 50 years at the Ray's Starlight Restaurant and dozens of other Ray's establishments across the Mid-Atlantic states.

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