[country music] ♪ Going to Benton's legendary smokehouse in Madisonville, Tennessee is a pilgrimage for those of us who love traditional country ham.
Allen still makes hams the way his family made them for generations in these Appalachian Mountains.
- Well, we make tri cure hams and bacon.
We've been in business since 1973.
The business was actually started by gentleman named Albert Hicks.
I heard Albert Hicks had quit the country ham business.
I thought, you know, this is not rocket science.
My family had always butchered their own hogs and made their own hams and bacon and did a really good job with it.
And I talked him into leasing me that little building in his backyard.
And that's how I got started.
I've loved Sheri from the first time I ever met her at East Tennessee State University.
And the day I met her, I knew I was in the presence of somebody special.
It's like an old friend that I've always known.
- Today, I pay a visit to my dear friends Allan and Sharon, as they show us around the ham house.
- Oh my goodness, you finally made it.
- Lord Mercy, give me a hug.
It's been too long, it's been too long.
Howdy, howdy, howdy cuz.
How are you?
- I am excited to have you here.
- so good to see you.
Do you know how long I've wanted to come here?
I mean this is like going to Santa's workshop.
I don't know if I've been good enough, but I am tickle pink to finally be here.
- We're glad to have you in Madisonville, that's for sure.
- So finally, you gonna show me how this works.
I've been on the eating end of this deal for a long time.
Are you gonna show me how the magic is made?
- If you'd like to see a little bit of how hillbilly makes a living, come on back here.
I'm gonna show you.
- Friend let's do it, let's do it.
- [Allan] Come on back.
- [Sheri] How have y'all been?
[country music] - This is where the magic starts.
- Okay.
- Sheri, we're gonna let you rub the cure on this end.
- Really well, all right, maybe it's just as well.
So this is your cure that they say it's like your folks have been using for a long time, right?
So take up a handful, show me what I'm doing here.
Or is it literally just rubbing it on?
- You're gonna take it.
The first thing you're gonna do is rub it on there.
Rub it all over that ham.
All over it.
- [Sheri] Okay, all over.
- Yeah, like you're mad at it if you want to, you're not gonna hurt it.
- And what is this doing?
I mean, when people say something is a cure, what is this combination?
It's adding flavor, but if there's salt and sugar, what's it doing?
- You're driving the moisture out.
It's a dehydration process that you're doing Sheri, when you're making country ham Yeah, you're dehydrating.
Make sure you rub it all over.
You can't leave anything untouched.
They stay in here until they're about, we leave them about 55 days, generally.
- 55 Days, okay.
- The USDA requirement is two days per pound that you have to leave them.
We usually exceed that just a little bit.
We hang them shank down in stocking nets, and the reason that we hang them- - Stocking nets, literally?
- It's a plastic stock net.
- Okay, you can show me.
So these are the mesh bags you were talking about that helps hold the shape?
- The whole purpose is to shape that ham into a prettier shape, cure the aesthetics.
- And you've gotten hanging on these racks here and what's happening in this stage?
- It's drying out.
It's losing weight, losing moisture, sorta like curing tobacco on an old tobacco farm.
They hung it in the fall and let it dry before they market it.
I leave them in here for about three and a half months.
So a lot of country ham producers will only leave the 14 or 16 days, from there, they go into the heat room.
Sheri this is where the smoke magic happens.
- The famous smoke.
- If you don't like smoke, you sure wouldn't like my bacon.
- No, I do.
You know how you've heard blind taste tests?
I could do a blind sniffing test and know that it was something that came from y'all.
- Well, I'm gonna show you what, where the smoke comes from.
- [Sharon] Do it quick.
Oh, good land.
- And if you look down low, you can see the meat hanging in there.
- Wow.
- But that's, where the magic happens.
- Now I have many, many questions but that smell, that's that signature Benton's thing that nobody does that like y'all do.
- Well Sheri, I think I showed you this place from to back, Let's go back up front.
- Yeah, 'cause I need a ham to go at least one.
- That sounds good.
- All right.
- Let's go.
- Well y'all, this has been something I have learned how to make ham.
I've gotten to spend time with you and you're gonna show me how to make some stuff right?
We're gonna cook later.
- We are.
- All right, I'm gonna head out, see y'all in a little bit, okay.
- See you later.
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