Fine Swine

Get native thanks to S.F.'s obsession with country ham

Picnic plate at Comstock Saloon

A swath of new restaurants has a fresh cure for pork fatigue: country ham.

Traditionally produced in the Southern states, the intensely savory product is akin to Spain's jamón Ibérico and Italy's prosciutto di Parma.

Take Col. Bill Newsom's Aged Kentucky Country Ham: The sweet, salty haunch has been prepared in much the same way since the early 1800s, using brown sugar, hand-washing and a slow smoking over hickory.

Here, Newsom's ham is seemingly everywhere: At Comstock Saloon, Carlo Espinas serves it on his picnic plate ($14); it's stuffed into an Americanized croque-monsieur ($12 to $14) at Wayfare Tavern; and Mission Chinese Food's Danny Bowien eventually imagines lashings of it or another fine ham from Surry Farms blanketing stir-fried choy sum ($7).

Newsom's ($10), dressed with honey mustard and hazelnuts, is also a fixture of the country-ham menu at Hog & Rocks, alongside other celebrated hams like those from G & W Hamery ($11) and Broadbent ($9).

Other recent examples: Smithfield ham is a smart optional addition ($3) to the lush mac 'n' cheese ($8) at Citizen's Band, and Incanto's pig-obsessed Chris Cosentino is currently using Benton's ham in a pasta with butter boletes, borage and Bellwether ricotta ($10 or $16).

If you hanker for these hams at home, start demanding them: Bi-Rite's selection has dwindled after few people bought them.

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