The USDA guidelines require labels to state if a ham is "ready-to-eat" or "needs cooking".
These often require soaking in water to remove excess salt before they are slowly baked or fried. 3. "Raw" Ready-to-Eat Hams can you buy raw ham
These hams are preserved using a dry-rub curing process but have not been heated or smoked to the point of being "ready-to-eat". The most famous example in the U.S. is Country Ham , which is dry-cured with salt and aged for months. The USDA guidelines require labels to state if