Harrington's of Vermont: Smoked Meats and Fine Foods Since 1873

Some companies have a history; Harrington's of Vermont has a smokehouse. Famous for smoked meats and fine foods since 1873, this Richmond institution has spent 150 years perfecting one thing: meat, cured and smoked the slow way, in a real smokehouse. The result is a Vermont legend -- and a holiday-table tradition in households far beyond the Green Mountains, where the name on the ham matters. A 150-year-old food business is a rarity in America; a 150-year-old food business still smoking meat the same way is a treasure. Harrington's is both.

The craft starts with the cure. Harrington's cures its hams and bacon with pure Vermont maple syrup -- the state's signature flavor, doing real work rather than playing a marketing role -- and then the meat goes into the smokehouse for a slow smoke of over eight hours. The fuel matters as much as the cure: corn cobs and maple wood embers, a combination that gives the meat its distinctive character. It is a process the family has protected for generations, and it shows in every slice. Maple syrup as a cure ingredient is a distinctly Vermont idea -- the state's two signature flavors, pork and maple, in a single slice. It should not work as well as it does.

The smokemaster's eye is part of the recipe. Only select pork bellies make the cut, chosen by people who have been judging meat for decades and can tell at a glance what will smoke well. In an industry that has largely industrialized into uniformity, Harrington's still operates like a craft: small batches, real wood, human judgment. That is what 150 years buys you -- not just a brand, but an instinct. Corn-cob smoke is the detail that separates connoisseurs from casual fans: a sweeter, milder smoke than hickory, and unmistakably Harrington's. Once you have tasted it, you will recognize it blind.

The product line runs deep. Beyond the famous hams and bacon, the shop sells turkey, entrees, sweets, soups, and casseroles -- a full fine-foods catalog built around the smokehouse. The best sellers read like a greatest-hits list: the hearty soups sampler, the macaroni and cheese casserole, the pumpkin swirl cake. Between the smokehouse and the bakery case, dinner is essentially solved. The fine-foods line means Harrington's is not just a ham company -- it is a complete holiday table, from soup to dessert. One box can cover the whole meal.

You do not have to get to Richmond to eat Harrington's. The company ships nationwide -- 'showstopping hams, delivered to your door' -- which has made it a mail-order staple for holidays, corporate gifts, and anyone who takes their ham seriously. Order online and the smokehouse comes to you, packed to travel and ready for the table. For exiled Vermonters, it is a taste of home with a shipping label. Mail-order ham is a competitive business; Harrington's wins it on heritage and consistency. The box that arrives in December tastes like the one from a decade ago -- that is the point.

If you are nearby, visit the source. The shop is at 210 E Main St, Richmond, VT 05477, open Monday through Friday 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM, and the phone is (802) 434-4444. There is something satisfying about buying smoked meat in the town where it was smoked -- and the retail shop carries the full line, including items that never make it into the catalog. The Richmond shop is worth the detour for the full selection -- including items that sell out before they reach the catalog. Chat with the staff; they know the products cold.

The story took a new turn in 2026, when Harrington's was acquired by the Chesapeake Fine Food Group -- a deal covered in the food-industry press as a meeting of heritage brands. The throughline, per the coverage: the recipes, the smokehouse, and the Vermont identity stay put. A 150-year-old tradition does not change owners lightly, and the new chapter is explicitly about preservation, not reinvention. Acquisitions make heritage-brand fans nervous, but the stated commitment here is preservation. The smokehouse, the recipes, the Vermont roots -- all staying put, per the coverage.

For gift-givers, Harrington's is the easy answer to the hard question. A smoked ham or a sampler box lands with more weight than another gift card, and the company's packaging is built for the job -- it arrives looking like the occasion it is. Holidays, host gifts, thank-yous, client gifts: the smokehouse has you covered, and the order deadlines are generous if you plan ahead. Corporate gifting is Harrington's quiet superpower: a ham says 'thank you' with more gravity than a gift card. Volume ordering is straightforward -- just mind the holiday cutoff dates.

Richmond makes a fine day of it. Pair a Harrington's stop with Cochran's Ski Area in winter, a Stone Corral pint year-round, and the town's classic New England streetscape -- the Old Round Church, the village green, the whole postcard. It is a small town with a big flavor footprint, and the smokehouse is its tastiest landmark. Richmond's village center rewards a slow stroll: the Round Church, the river, the small shops. Make the ham run part of a longer wander.

One hundred fifty years, one smokehouse, and a recipe worth protecting: Harrington's of Vermont is proof that doing one thing slowly beats doing everything fast. Taste the tradition -- at the shop on Main Street, or at your own table with a box from Richmond. Traditions survive because someone keeps doing the work. At Harrington's, the work is curing, smoking, and slicing -- done the slow way, since 1873.