Lidia Celebrates America

(somber music) -

Allen

Pork was sustenance food for people all over Appalachia and all over the South. When I was a kid growing up until I started to college, we butchered pigs on Thanksgiving day, that was traditional hog killing day in the mountains of Virginia. We made our own ham, bacon, and sausage. And I never once thought about trying to make a living curing country hams. -

Lidia

Allen tried his hand at curing meat as a young boy. His grandparents smoked bacon and ham inside a small log smokehouse located just behind the house where he was born. Today, he's using the same recipe his grandparents used for his own business. And Allen's little business has become a success story. With his bacon and hams in demand by restaurants all across the country. Today, Allen and his wife Sharon have invited me to their home for biscuits and ham. The mountain range, the Appalachian, is that what that is right there? -

Allen

That is. I was trying to make biscuits that would go well with our country ham. Like a piece of country ham on a biscuit. And I know how to make a flaky biscuit, but that's not what we wanted. You know, when you bight into a piece of country ham on a biscuit- -

Lidia

That has a bite to it, yeah? -

Sharon

You want the biscuit to stay with you. -

Lidia

Exactly -

Sharon

You don't want the biscuit to be falling off in your lap. Had to start making biscuits to work with his country ham. -

Lidia

While the biscuits are being prepared, Allen is frying up some country ham and his famous smoky bacon. -

Allen

Most people dramatically overcook country ham. I see the mellow, kind of the light heat that you're giving this ham, nice and easy. Well, and it takes very little cooking. Typically, if the grease is good and hot 12 or 15 seconds on each side and it's ready to take up and serve. Most people cook it to death and it doesn't require that. Put it on this, are you afraid I'm going to take a little piece? I see you're putting on that side. We're going to let you have a sample. I can't even wait to sit down, can I cut a little corner here? You've got to try some to see what you think and we're going to put it on a biscuit in a few minutes and hope that you do. This is delicious, mmm the smoke and mmm, it's so delicious. I also want to sample some aged ham similar to the prosciutto I grew up with in Italy. You know I'm a prosciutto kind of gal? Well this, I'll give you an advanced heads up. On this, Lidia, this is from a 29 month ham. 29? Yes, and it's going to be a bolder flavor than the prosciutto that would come out of Italy. Do you smoke it a little bit? We do, but I trim everything off before I slice it. Mmm, delicious. I'm glad you like it.