Say Goodbye To Dry, Flavorless Ham With This 'Wagyu Of Pork' Brand

Whether it's an Easter brunch, a Christmas feast, or just a regular summertime picnic, there's something uniquely appealing about a tender, salty ham. While some brands of spiral ham are better than others, it really comes down to the pork that's being used and the technique of cooking the ham. Grocery store hams will do in a pinch, or there are always specialty stores like The Honey Baked Ham Company to order from, but the next time you're looking for a stellar, high-quality ham, it's time to turn to a kurobuta ham. 

One prolific supplier of kurobuta pork is Snake River Farms, based out of Idaho. Known for being pioneers of American wagyu beef where you can order hard-to-find specialty cuts like deckle of beef, Snake River Farms has branched into this specialty pork game. If you're unfamiliar with kurobuta pork, it comes from a special breed of pig known as the Berkshire pig and is generally referred to as the wagyu of pork.

Originally an English breed of pig (from the county of Berkshire), the rather special Berkshire pig has been bred by American and Japanese farmers and breeders over the last century or so. Kurobuta may sound like a fancy name, but just as wagyu simply means Japanese cow, kurobuta translates from the Japanese to black pig, due to the fact that the pig has a coating of black hair. Snake River Farms sources its kurobuta Berkshire hams from a group of small family-run farms, and the hams are all from 100% Berkshire hogs raised without the use of hormones.

What makes Berkshire pork unique and so highly-prized is the meat's larger percentage of fat and more marbling than most other pork, yielding more tender and juicy results after cooking. Kurobuta pork is generally a deeper red color than most pale pink pork meat you'll find at the grocery store, which comes from the higher pH levels in the meat. The Berkshire pigs are fed a special diet of corn, soybeans, and oats, as well as added vitamins and minerals, and the pigs are slow-fed, which helps to improve the fat marbling in the meat. Obviously all of this extra effort would be moot without a gain in the flavor outcome of the meat, but Kurobuta pork is known to be incredibly rich in flavor compared to most other commercially raised pork in the United States, sometimes being described as having slightly sweet notes.

Snake River Farms' Kurobuta hams are sold in whole and half sizes, either bone-in or boneless. The hams are cured, hardwood smoked, and fully cooked, then flash frozen before being shipped; they're delivered frozen and should be fully thawed before warming in the oven. Then all that's left to do is slice and serve. If you become a fan of the hams, there are many other cuts of kurobuta pork to enjoy from specialist outlets across the U.S.