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The Holiday season brings fond childhood memories of growing up on Dakin Farm and fond memories of the family gathered around a Christmas Feast. The centerpiece of this meal in my family has always been a traditional Dakin Farm, Bone-In Dinner Ham. When I was a child, my dad used to smoke these hams in a wooden barrel over glowing corncob embers. Then, when I graduated from college in 1980 and joined the family business full-time, we went under USDA meat inspection and constructed a new meat plant here on the farm so we could safely ship our hams nationwide in order to share our beloved traditions and tastes of Vermont with families near and far. The process of preparing our hams is much the same as it was in the days of the wooden barrel. Our recipe for smoking meat requires a long, slow, tenderizing smoke over glowing corncob embers. The result produces meat with a rich golden-bronze color and, delicate, sweet, smoky flavor. A ham from Dakin Farm is simply the best ham you can find anywhere; It has been for as long as I can remember and it will be for as long as I’m around.
I’m thankful for families like yours all over the country that have made an old-fashioned, maple-cured, and cob-smoked ham or delightful North Country Breakfast with Pure Vermont Maple Syrup from Dakin Farm their Christmas Family Tradition. These traditions will likely look different this year – with smaller, more intimate family dinners or even meals shared over zoom. Smaller celebrations don’t mean that you have to skip your favorite dishes you love. We’re here to help with just the right size centerpiece for your family as well as hassle-free nationwide shipping to surprise and delight loved ones.
We wanted to provide you with an update so we can offer you, our valued customer, the best possible holiday experience we can despite these unusual times. As always, our team is working hard to quickly, safely, and carefully package our specialty foods and gifts and making sure they start their journey to you and your loved ones for timely Holiday delivery. However, we continue to face the challenges presented by the ongoing pandemic and have had to make significant changes in our production and fulfillment processes to ensure we are doing everything in our power to keep our team healthy and safe as we enter our busiest shipping season.
Ordering and shipping your Holiday gifts and centerpieces earlier than usual is the best way to ensure your products will be ready and waiting for you and your gift recipients to enjoy on Thanksgiving or Christmas day. It will also help us make sure we can maintain a safe environment for all of our staff. Additionally, our shipping partners are expecting unprecedented demand and have already begun warning of unavoidable delays due to the sheer increase in the volume of packages as Christmas delivery nears. We will continue to quickly and safely get your packages into the hands of our FedEx and USPS shipping partners but their journey is out of our hands at that point. We know there is a chance that our typical fast delivery will be subject to transit delays.
Our products arrive fully cooked and ready to serve cold or simply warmed. If you plan to use your ham or turkey within seven days or arrival, refrigerate immediately. If you plan on keeping it more than seven days before it is served, you must freeze the ham to maintain its quality. Most of our products will freeze well and may be kept frozen for up to 12 weeks without loss of flavor! Just make sure to plan ahead and allow for additional time to properly thaw your products beforehand.
We want to thank you for your support and understanding despite the challenges this year has brought and for your patience and for helping us maintain the safe, healthy environment we demand for our team members. We will continue to do all we can to ensure that you and everyone who receives a gift from you truly enjoy the comfort and joy of delicious, hand-crafted, food.
