DATE: Thursday, October 23, 1997            TAG: 9710220193

SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN             PAGE: 03   EDITION: FINAL 

TYPE: THUMBS UP 

SOURCE: BY SHIRLEY BRINKLEY, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: IVOR                              LENGTH:   93 lines

THE BARCROFTS CURED GRAND CHAMPION HAM AT VIRGINIA STATE FAIR

When Teresa Weaver, extension agent for Isle of Wight County, submitted eight home-cured hams and bacon for judging in the 1997 State Fair of Virginia, the judges were skeptical.

``They were thrilled I had brought them,'' Weaver said, ``but they informed me that no home-cured ham had ever won Grand Champion in the state competition.''

Midway through the competition and before the taste-test, the judges remarked that the ham entered by the father/son team, Dickie and Billy Barcroft of Ivor, was the ``prettiest'' they had in the contest.

``The competition has always been pretty much between commercial producers,'' Weaver said, ``but when the judges sliced and tasted the Barcroft's ham, they were flabbergasted. They informed me that the ham had won Grand Champion. ``I've grown up curing hams and eaten a lot of home-cured meat, but the Barcroft ham melts in your mouth.''

A total of 21 hams and three bacons were judged at the state fair, which included other home-curers and commercial entries. Contest officials announced this was the first time in memory that a home-cured ham had won the grand prize. Earlier, another Barcroft ham had captured the Grand Champion title at the Isle of Wight County Fair.

Reserve Champion - second place - went to V.W. Joyner of Smithfield, one of the commercial entries and corporate sponsor for the Isle of Wight 4-H Cured Ham Project. This win gave Isle of Wight County a clean sweep of this year's top honors, Weaver said.

Before a line of ham-lovers forms at the Barcroft door, however, it should be known that the family cures no more than three or four 15- to 16-pound hams annually. Dickie Barcroft's wife, Jean, cooks one for Thanksgiving and another for her husband's birthday in March. A third is promised to Dickie's sister for the holidays.

Dickie Barcroft said his love for the country life began at an early age. He could hardly wait for the summers when he could leave his home in Virginia Beach and spend time on his grandfather's farm near Pons. There he could help with farm chores and drive the tractor. He also studied his grandfather's method of curing a melt-in-your-mouth ham.

During his sophomore year in high school, Dickie moved to the farm permanently and attended Smithfield High School where he met a girl who loved the country as much as he did. High school sweethearts, Dickie and Jean married in 1959, two months after she graduated. Their family also includes a daughter, Robin Stiltner of Orbit.

Dickie worked in the supply department of Gwaltney's Inc. before opening the Red Point Service Center in Red Point Heights. Later, he founded Barcroft Construction Company, which specializes in custom-built homes.

In 1990, the couple bought 25 acres of land near Jean's former home and began construction on their large brick ranch home.

``While we were building the house, we stopped construction to build a smokehouse,'' Jean said. ``We put hams in for the first time in January, 1991.''

Dickie, who became disabled in 1985 and finds it difficult to stand or walk for long periods, still supervises, while Billy, 30, begins the curing process.

After the meat is butchered, it is packed with saltpeter, a nitrate which makes the meat sweat so it will absorb salt, Jean said. Then after seven days, the salt is broken up and the meat is re-salted. In about two weeks, the hams are washed, coated with pepper, and the smoking process begins.

``The secret is knowing how much smoke to use on the meat, what to smoke it with, and the best days to smoke it,'' Jean said. ``If you smoke it too much, the meat will dry out.''

The best-kept secret of the hams' superior flavor and texture is the combination of three different woods burned in the smoking process.

``The Barcrofts have been a driving force behind our 4-H ham-curing contest,'' Teresa Weaver said. ``Home-curing meat is a dying art and if we don't train the youth of today to home-cure, it will become a lost art. There were three categories offered in the Isle of Wight County Fair - 4-H Youth, Novice Adult, and Veteran Adult. The Barcrofts opened their smokehouse to 4-Hers and their parents for the 9-month project.''

The Barcrofts have two grandchildren, Haley and Hayden Stiltner, who are members of Isle of Wight 4-H. In the 4-H Youth Category, Hayley's ham won second-place and Hayden took eighth place in the Virginia State Fair.

Billy and Jean, who is a master gardener, plant a large garden every year. At harvest time, Jean freezes and cans various types of vegetables, preserves, and pickles.

Last year, Jean manned the Master Gardener Hot Line at the extension service office, in addition to her work as a broker with Stephenson Realty. She also does volunteer work at Riverside Hospital in Newport News. MEMO: The 1998 Cured Ham Project will begin in January. Those interested

in participating, call Teresa Weaver at the Isle of Wight Extension

Office, 365-6257. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by MICHAEL KESTNER

The Barcrofts, Billy, left, Jean, center and Dickie keep their

smoking methods a family secret.

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