Kite’s hams aging well

Although most of the pork that graces the country’s holiday tables originates from one of the large producers in eastern Virginia and North Carolina, a select few mom-and-pop ham operations still dot the Mid-Atlantic. One such producer, Jim Kite at Kite’s Ham in Madison County, has been making ham in the same time-tested, labor-intensive manner for the past 45 years.

[Kites Hams](http://kiteshams.com/ “Kite’s Hams”)
Wolftown, VA 22748
540-948-4742


Kite’s hams aging well / Madison County company has been making delicacy for 45 years with family’s recipe
Byline: DAVID HENDRICK Media General News Service

Country ham occupies a special place in the hearts and minds of many, particularly those of a certain geographical persuasion. Likewise, perhaps no place is more associated with the Southern delicacy than the commonwealth.

“People think of Virginia ham,” said Willis Logan, president of The Virginia Company, based in Stanardsville. “That curing process . . . the traditional salt cure, began in Virginia. That association as Virginia ham is known in the whole world.”
Logan said his firm, which specializes in products made in the commonwealth, brings in a special storage truck this time of year to hold all of the hams that they ship “clear across the country,” during the holiday season.

While few go through the old-time country ritual of curing their own ham for family consumption anymore, some commercial outfits still make country hams.

And although most of the pork that graces the country’s holiday tables originates from one of the large producers in eastern Virginia and North Carolina, a select few mom-and-pop ham operations still dot the Mid-Atlantic.

One such producer, Jim Kite at Kite’s Ham in Madison County, has been making ham in the same time-tested, labor-intensive manner for the past 45 years.

“It was a recipe my dad had, and I took it from there,” said Kite, a Madison native and former professional baseball player.

Kite, 74, started his production behind his Wolftown home, making a few hundred hams a year.

The output steadily climbed to the roughly 2,000 he and his five- person staff will put out this year, all of which will sell, Kite said.

He won’t divulge much of his recipe, only saying that it’s “secret and complicated.” The gist of things, however, is this:

After the fresh ham is delivered, the meat is heavily rubbed down with a salt and sugar mixture, left for a few weeks, and then rubbed down again.

Kite and his team then transfer the meat to a warm curing house, where the meat is left to hang and cure for as long as 12 months. While it hangs, the moisture leaves the meat and the flavors concentrate, making for a stronger taste.

For those who don’t like a ham that’s cured quite so long, Kite’s makes a product it calls “happy ham,” pork that’s only seen four to six months in the curing shed.

Despite being around the product for his entire life and despite entreaties from his doctor, Kite still says he eats “more than he should.”

“It’s so good,” the ham man said. “I never see too much.”

At Anderson Carriage Food House, Ed Anderson said Kite’s is his biggest selling ham.

“People are very knowledgeable about it and will ask for Kite’s,” said Anderson, who carries a variety of hams.

Asked whether he was a fan of the food himself, Anderson didn’t hesitate.

“Oh my goodness, yes,” the grocery store owner said. “It’s cured properly. It is an excellent ham.”

Kite’s hams have inspired a country ode from musician Larry Gardner and picked up top honors at a number of events, including the “American Cured Meat Championships.”

Kite doesn’t seem much interested in winning awards anymore, nor does he bother much with advertising. He’s thought about getting a Web site going, but that too doesn’t seem important, as he already has all the business he and his crew can handle.

He doesn’t say how much money the operation brings in, only that it’s “just enough to put bread on the table.”

Kite’s career in ham almost didn’t happen.

Coming out of Fork Union Military Academy, he bounced around the minor leagues of baseball, pitching in Birmingham, Ala., Denver and Binghamton, N.Y., among other spots, before throwing his shoulder out.

Still, Kite enjoys reminiscing about baseball almost as much as he likes talking about ham, and the former pitcher has a stable of stories involving his run-ins with greats such as Satchel Paige and Mickey Mantle.

Occasionally, Kite’s two interests merge, such as in the letter he keeps from George Steinbrenner, in which the owner of the New York Yankees tells Kite how much he likes his hams.

But for someone who has used long, slow curing to achieve greatness in the ham business, Kite has no tolerance for the long, slow nature of today’s professional baseball.

“They’ve got to do something,” Kite said of the pace of modern baseball games. “It’s killing it.”

Originally from the Richmond Times Dispatch


I haven’t eaten a Kite’s ham in several years, and I’d forgotten how delicious they are until I read the article. I think I’ll pick one up the next time I’m in the Charlottesville area.

I remember my grandparents curing hams in a similar manner as Kite’s – cover it in a rub and let it hang in a warm curing shed for up to a year.


The Ivy Inn Restaurant in Charlottesville is [planning to offer](http://ivyinnkitchen.wordpress.com/2008/09/16/kuntry-ham/ “Read the Ivy Inn’s post”) Kite’s hams on its menu.


Ham Wolftown