Rays Country Ham Company of Mount Airy, N.C, has joined forces with a family-owned Spanish Ham company with a renowned 50-year history to launch Rays Jamón Serrano Superior.

The American-Spanish collaboration allows Serrano Ham to be naturally dry-cured for Rays in Spain for over 12 months. Rays will freshly slice and offer U.S. home delivery in atmosphere-controlled packages, providing Americans with a ready-to-eat Serrano Ham experience just as it is sliced to order daily in local markets across Spain.

In making the announcement, the Company’s Principal, Ray Goad, Jr., explained that since the early ‘60s and for three generations, his family has been known for its Blue Ridge Mountain cured Country Ham. His Dad’s dozens of fast-food restaurants across Virginia and the Carolinas were the first to open for breakfast featuring Country Ham and Sausage Biscuits. Today, you can find a Breakfast Biscuit Sandwich at any fast-food restaurant all across the USA.

However, the family’s third millennial generation was raised loving the taste of authentic dry-cured Country Ham, and they have been leading the way for the Country Ham taste to be more accessible for today's Grab & Go healthy lifestyle.

Rays Jamón Serrano Superior is naturally cured without nitrates or nitrites and is ready to eat. The only ingredients are pork and sea salt, patiently dry-cured and aged for more than twelve months.

Jamón Serrano can be sold without a cooking requirement in the U.S. because it is produced by E.U. regulations following the traditional European curing and processing standards established and refined over centuries. While Rays could produce longer-aged Country Ham safe to be consumed uncooked, USDA regulations do not yet provide means allowing ready-to-eat labeling as in the E.U.

American Country Ham and Spanish Jamón Serrano are both cured pork ham, and while they differ in several ways, their preparation, flavor profiles, and cultural significance are strikingly similar. Country hams are typically dry-cured with salt, sugar, and other seasonings, with a bold, salty flavor and dense, moist, firm texture. They are then aged for an extended period, often several months to over a year.

 Jamón Serrano, like its American counterpart, undergoes traditional curing with the exclusive use of Mediterranean Sea salt. This process imparts a mild, subtly sweet, and nutty flavor profile to the ham. What sets Serrano ham apart is its extended curing period, which can span from one year to several years. This prolonged curing substantially diminishes the ham's water content, effectively inhibiting the proliferation of harmful microorganisms and enabling Rays Jamón Serrano to be savored at any time and in any place without the need for cooking.

Visit Rays Jamón Serrano Webpage