E.M. Burger's family first started curing hams in the 1920s. The business was slow-going at first—the Burgers' were farmers first and foremost—but word traveled pretty fast throughout the Ozarks, and by mid-century E.M. found himself curing thousands of hams a year in order to keep up with the demand. It was enough for the family to cut back on the farming business and go whole hog into hams. Before long, what had started as a small family side-business had become the first cured-meat company large enough to require federal inspection.

Today, the company has expanded into a more than 300,000 square-foot space that produces everything from bone-in turkeys to highly popular bacon samplers. There are great barbecue meats as well, including brisket, burgers, and sauced ribs, which pair perfectly with a selection of frozen, ready-to-bake fruit pies. Of course, ham remains at the heart of the Burgers' business. Customers can still get a taste of that original country ham that put Burgers' Smokehouse on the map, or try one of the newer varieties, such as the award-winning city ham—hickory smoked with a sweet brine—or the attic-aged ham, which owes its robust flavor, not to smoke, but to a 7-9 month aging process.