Tennessee country ham is salty, aged, and a little bit stubborn, and the best of it still comes from small shops that will sell you an entire leg. Buying a whole ham is a big move, the kind you make for holidays, family reunions, or a freezer full of biscuit breakfasts.
The six stops below range from a famous smokehouse in the foothills to a roadside honey stand that stocks whole hams beside the jams. Check the hours before you go, because most of these places keep short weekday schedules, and bring a cooler with room to spare.
1. Benton’s Smoky Mountain Country Hams & Bacon, Madisonville, TN
Patience is the secret ingredient on US-411. The hams at Benton’s are salt packed, hickory smoked at 75 to 90 degrees for three days, and then cured for 14 to 30 months.
The cure itself is simple: salt, brown sugar, and black pepper. That short list, plus a long wait, is what gives these hams their deep, smoky character.
You can take home a whole leg, or ask the staff to cut it into slices and package it for you. Sliced ham is a smart choice if your kitchen knife skills are more breakfast-level than butcher-level.
The shop also sells its specialty bacon, so plan for a little extra cooler space. Hours run Monday through Saturday, 8:30 AM to 5 PM, and Saturdays tend to get busy, so an early arrival helps.
2. Rice’s Country Hams, Mt. Juliet, TN
Some families mark the calendar with a yearly trip to Rice’s, and it is easy to see why. This relaxed Lebanon Road shop offers a variety of hams, both pre-sliced and whole.
The style here leans old-fashioned, the kind of country cured ham that reminds people of what grandma kept in the kitchen. Bacon and sausage fill out the lineup, so one stop covers breakfast for weeks.
Being just east of Nashville makes Rice’s an easy detour for city folks. Curbside pickup and delivery are also available.
Timing matters. The shop is open Tuesday through Saturday from 9 AM to 4 PM and closed Sundays and Mondays.
3. Clifty Farm Country Meats, Paris, TN
If you have spotted a Clifty Farm package in a grocery store, this is where it starts. The Paris company is a fourth-generation producer of traditional country ham and Southern cured meats.
Whole bone-in country hams lead the list. The product line also covers center slices, biscuit slices, boneless slices, hock slices, seasoning pieces, and end cuts, plus fully cooked options.
Those seasoning pieces and end cuts are handy for beans and greens. Beyond ham, Clifty Farm makes pulled pork BBQ, summer sausage, pork skins, and peppered pork side meat.
Clifty Farm hams show up at Walmart, Publix, Kroger, and other Southeast grocers, and select items can be ordered online. The Paris location keeps weekday hours, Monday through Friday from 7 AM to 4 PM.
4. Bigham’s Ham, Cornersville, TN
Down a county road near Cornersville, Bigham’s goes about its business the old way. This is a country ham processing facility that makes traditional dry-cured hams using time-honored methods.
Each stage of the process is carefully controlled to build flavor, texture, and shelf stability. That last part matters if your ham is headed a long way home.
And some of them do travel far. Fans have been known to cross several states to buy whole hams here, picking up one leg for holiday cooking and another cut for everyday meals.
Treat this as a quick weekday stop. Bigham’s is open Monday through Friday, 7 AM to 4 PM, and closed on weekends.
5. Tripp Country Hams, Brownsville, TN
Easter dinner in plenty of West Tennessee homes has a Brownsville return address. Tripp Country Hams sits on South Washington Avenue, and its whole cured hams have become a holiday habit for regulars.
The ham gets top billing, but the ham hocks and bacon earn their own loyal following. Some customers make the trip several times a year to restock.
Its reputation as a top choice for hams in West Tennessee is well earned. Brownsville is also an easy hop off I-40 between Memphis and Jackson.
Go early. Hours are Monday through Friday from 7 AM to 3 PM, pickup is in store, and there is no delivery.
6. Early’s Honey Stand, Spring Hill, TN
The name says honey, but the shelves say a lot more. Early’s Honey Stand in Spring Hill stocks local ham and bacon products, including whole hams, next to a wide range of honeys.
That mix makes it a fun one-stop shop. Link sausages, flavored nuts, spices, jams, and ham preserves share space with the cured meats.
I like this stop for anyone building a gift basket. A whole ham plus a jar of honey and some jam covers the whole breakfast table.
It is also the easiest visit on this list. There is a free on-site parking lot and restrooms, and hours run Monday through Saturday from 10 AM to 5 PM.
Each of these six shops proves that country ham is still a hands-on Tennessee tradition. Pick a route, check the hours, and let that cooler fill up.
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