It is dry cured for anywhere from 18 months to 36 months. The longer it is cured the higher the price. Here in the states it is "supposed" to be smoke cured. I can assure you, that in reality anymore, most US ham is not smoke cured. The Spanish dry cured ham comes from a hog that is only grown on the Iberian pennisula. As you know it has a flavor that you will never forget, so even if the dry curing was used here in the US, it would still not have the same flavor.