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Country Ham

The program details:

  • Youth meet once in January (usually during MLK weekend on Saturday or Monday) to learn about country hams and prepare their hams for curing and hanging.

  • End of May/early June, youth clean their hams and rehang them.

  • Tuesday before KY State Fair, youth will return to the office to clean their hams and pick out the best one to enter.

  • First Thursday of KY State Fair, youth will attend the fair and give a 3-5 minute speech in the morning and attend an awards ceremony in late afternoon. 

  • Fee $75: Youth receive 2 country hams, 2 tickets to the KY State Fair, and parking pass at fair

  • Deadline to apply: December 5, 2025

 

 

Country Ham Topic for 2026 Junior (Born 2016-2012):

The difference between wet and dry cured hams. Grocery stores throughout the Southeast sell wet and dry cured hams.  Discuss the differences between wet cured (aka City Ham) and dry cured (aka Country Ham), include differences in how they are made, flavor differences, and how they are stored.  

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Country Ham Topic for 2025 Senior (Born 2007-2011):

The science of curing and aging country hams.  Discuss the science of curing and aging country hams, including the purpose of salt, sugar, and nitrite; what happens during aging aka the summer sweat, and why country hams do not need refrigeration.

- (Visual aids are optional, no digital/electronics,  limited to one poster board, you can use both sides)

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SENIORS : all presentations MUST be 2+ minutes long or they will be disqualified and hams will be forfeited.

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Speeches should be between 3-5 minutes in length

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