Our business was founded in 1947 by Earl Cummings as Cummings Frozen Foods.

The company processed beef and pork for area farmers, cutting and wrapping the different cuts of meat and quick-freezing it. Back then, very few folks had home freezers, so we rented freezer lockers for people to store their meat and vegetables in. We cured the pork hams, shoulders and side meat for bacon and even cooked out the lard. In 1962, Mr. Cummings decided to sell his business because of poor health. Talmadge Phillips, my father, and his older brothers bought the business and continued to process meat for the farmer as well as cure more hams on the side. The business name was changed to “Phillips Brothers Country Hams in the early 1970’s. As more and more people bought home freezers and relied on the local grocery store for their meat, the processing operation was discontinued in 1980. This was when the business switched entirely to curing country hams and side meat. The business is still owned and operated by my father and my husband, Larry Craven and myself, Dianne Craven. Our son, Phillip Craven, is the third generation of our family to work in the ham curing business. My father’s brother has retired from the business.

At a time when everything is fast paced, we at Phillips Brothers Country Hams still cure our hams the slow, old-fashioned way. We hand rub each of our fresh hams with our special cure mixture, and place them in our refrigerated curing room in oak bins. After a few days in this cure, each ham is hand rubbed a second time and returned to the curing room where they stay for a total of 40 to 45 days. At this stage of the curing process, the hams are washed of excess salt and placed in equalization. This process allows the cure mixture to equalize throughout the whole ham giving it a consistent flavor. After equalization, the hams are hung in the drying/aging room at a temperature of 80 to 85 degrees for 25 to 35 days. This is where the old time southern flavor of country ham is achieved. For a more aged, robust flavor, we age the hams longer.

We also process fresh sausage, seasoned with our secret, old southern blend of herb seasonings. We cure side meat for seasoning your vegetables and dried beans for that down home flavor of the South.

We are proud to have our ham, sausage and side meat served in many of North Carolina’s best restaurants. We can also be found in many independent grocery stores and markets throughout the South. Please browse our web site and contact us if you have any questions, need pricing or want to place an order for ham or our gift boxes that feature North Carolina produced products.

If you are ever in the center of North Carolina, we would love for you to come by our retail store and meet us.

Member of North Carolina Goodness Grows Program.