Genuine Artisanry: Cooked Ham

The Frierss family maintains its ham tradition to the highest standard.

With utmost care, experienced ham specialists handcraft first-rate Carinthian Farmer’s Ham "Kärntner Bauernschinken", Carinthian Country Ham "Kärntnerland Schinken", and Carinthian Mountain Ham "Kärntner Bergschinken" using only carefully-selected local pork and refined with our traditional spice blends. Seasonal gourmet hams are refined with choice ingredients. The proven cooking method gives these hams their unmistakable succulence and tenderness.

What makes our Frierss’ hams so special?

1. Only fresh, local pork is the basis for Frierss’ ham specialties. The Frierss family relies solely on pigs from small-scale enterprises in Carinthia, Styria, and Upper Austria. In their own in-house dissection department, experienced butchers professionally divide the pigs into select pieces following exact specifications before they are cleaned with great care. Only after a very specific quality test are these pieces further separated for Frierss’ products.
   
   

2. Our hams are cured and refined with special spice blends using our family recipes. Some of the traditional spice mixes come from our grandfather’s time and have remained well-kept family secrets for generations. These spice compositions give each individual ham its distinctive taste.
   
   Gourmet hams are refined with choice ingredients, such as the Nock Country Whiskey Ham with its single malt whiskey from Bad Kleinkirchheim or the Truffle Ham with its carefully-minced black truffles. With great attention to detail some hams are finished with seasonings by hand.
   
   

3. Subsequently the hams are manually pressed into special forms. In this process the exact positioning of the pieces is very important in order to guarantee consistent quality and form. 
   
   

4. The hams are carefully cooked to perfection - not under- and not overcooked. In order to achieve this, constant supervision and the highest precision are required using the most modern of technology. The temperature during the cooking process must be constantly checked as it, along with the time cooked, are the deciding factors in the quality of the ham. Finally, some of the hams, particularly the rustic ham specialties of Carinthian tradition, are gently smoked over natural beechwood or carefully broiled in a convection oven. Our specifically-designed smoking-cooking method, which we developed decades ago, gives Frierss’ hams their exceptional succulence and tenderness.
   
   

5. Only when the strictest quality criteria have been fulfilled do the hams get Frierss’ seal of approval!

   Wherever you see Frierss, you know there is quality inside.