Suzanne Stewart
Staff Writer
Curing meat is an ancient technique that was passed down through the centuries and brought to the Appalachian region by settlers who relied on cured meats to survive the harsh winters.
In the late 1940s, the Greenbrier Valley District of FFA – consisting of Pocahontas, Monroe, Summers and Greenbrier counties – began the ham, bacon and egg sale in which FFA members would raise hogs and chickens for nearly a year, then have the hogs slaughtered and their hams and bacons cured.
The chickens produced eggs which joined the hams and bacons in a show where they were judged, and first place winners were sent to Charleston to be entered in the state show and sale.
Through the years, the counties chose to either have their own show and sale or quit participating all together.
In Pocahontas County, 4-H was invited to participate and for decades now, the ham, bacon and egg sale has been an education in tradtion and skills for FFA and 4-H members.
In 2004, a meats lab was added to the annex at Pocahontas County High School which makes it easier for participants to prepare their hams and bacons for the show. Updates and upgrades have been made through the years.
There is a cooler for the bacons, a heated room for the hams, a bandsaw and stainless steel work tables and sinks for the entire process.
Last week, students and their parents were in the lab getting the meats ready for the show which will be this Saturday, March 22, at 6:30 p.m., at the Pocahontas County Opera House.
Extension Agent Greg Hamons and 4-H Extension Agent Luci Mosesso were joined by Greenbrier County Extension Agent Josh Peplowski as they helped everyone make sure their hams and bacons were in tip top shape.
The process began last April when the students got their hogs.
“We showed all our pigs, but I took the lower placing pig for ham and bacon,” Victor Dean said. “Incidentally, the lower placing pig had bigger hams, so it worked out pretty well.”
Dean got his hog when it was three months old and weighed 40 pounds. When it was taken to slaughter in October, it was 300 pounds.
Dean said he and his brother, Silas, took bacons out of one of their pigs and hams out of the other one.
The hams were packed in salt and set to cure in November of last year. The bacons go through a similar process, but sugar is added to give them a sweet taste.
After they have cured long enough, the hams and bacons are trimmed.
Hamons explained that the black parts on the hams are trimmed away because that is where the most concentration of salt is. More salt is placed on the hip joint to keep it from going bad.
“If you lose one, it will almost always be rotten up in the hip joint,” he said. “I think the only ones we’ve ever lost – the hip joint broke when they hung them up.”
Hamons added that the hams must be 38 pounds or less and are cured for two and a half days per pound of meat.
The bacons are smaller and are only cured for 21 days.
PCHS alum Kelsi Taylor has been participating in the ham, bacon and egg sale since she was eight years old and has a few grand champion and reserve champion wins under the belt.
“We’ve had hogs ever since I was little, then I found out that they were doing this,” she said. “I’ve done the eggs, too. I got grand champion eggs two years in a row. Last year, I got reserve.”
This year, there are 42 students showing hams and bacons and between 15 and 20 showing eggs.
“We have a judge who will come in Friday, so we’ll have all the products set out,” Mosesso said. “It’s all identified by a number, so they don’t know who the student is.”
After everything is judged, it will be auctioned off with Ben Wilfong serving as auctioneer.
In the year leading up to the sale, Mosesso said the students are learning so much about raising and taking care of the animals, as well as how the investment can become a profit – monetarily and sustainably.
“They’re feeding their families and calculating their costs and learning what it takes to produce food,” she said.
Holding on to the tradition of the ham, bacon and egg sale, and the tradition of raising and curing your own meats is something the advisors are happy to pass down to their students.
It’s a tradition specific to West Virginia.
“We’re one of a kind in the country,” Peplowski said. “West Virginia has 23 or 27 FFA programs that participate in ham/bacon. There are 13 or 14 sales across the state.
“We’re honestly holding on to the Appalachian tradition as much as possible,” he continued. “If you had a hog in the barn, you pretty well knew you could get the family through the winter and make it to summer.”
To be part of those traditions, attend the 4-H/FFA Ham, Bacon and Egg Show and Sale this Saturday at 6:30 p.m. at the Pocahontas County Opera House.