DARDEN'S COUNTRY STORE
Welcome to Darden's Country Store
Darden's Country Store in operation since 1951, located in Smithfield, Virginia and home of some of the best smoked Smithfield Ham ever, also home made sausage
Darden's Country Store, Smithfield Virginia, Smithfield Hams, Farming, Soy beans, cotton, peanuts, Virginia Grown, buy local produce, DeeDee Darden, Tommy Darden
Curing hams, smoking ’em. The way we do it is the way Tommy’s daddy did it – the way we salt ’em, the way we stack ’em. It takes a personal touch. We work individually with each ham ’til we get it right. This is a lost art. Now, you can’t even find a pot big enough to cook a ham. Here in Virginia, ham is a traditional food. But everywhere else, because of the publicity around salt-cured pork meat, it’s now more of a delicacy. Not too many people do what we do anymore. Farm, run the little store, and do hams. It’s all part of our lifestyle, our history, and our future.
We are a working farm, we farm about 600 acres, growing peanuts, corn, cotton, soybeans, wheat, and pumpkins. We also have about 60 head of beef cattle, 9 goats, 1 donkey, and 3 sheep. Farming and running the store is a way of life here. Independence, working with family and friends, getting involved in the community, preserving what we have for the future. When asked what the best part of this life is, Tommy says “All of it”.