The finest ham is generally cooked on the bone and hand ... in brine (and for how long), whether it has been air-dried or smoked, and the smoking medium (hickory, juniper or oak, for example).
I love the salty flavor of a well-aged smoked country ham, maybe served up with some red-eye gravy, though I'm not quite sure I'm Kentucky-level crazy for it. The Kentucky State Fair's blue ribbon ...