A Kuttawa deli market continued its legacy of success in the Kentucky State Fair last month, netting its 22nd grand champion ribbon in the country ham competition and having that ham fetch a record-breaking $10 million at a auction.
Broadbent B&B Foods and Gourmet Deli/Market took home the blue ribbon for country ham in the 59th Annual Kentucky State Fair in Louisville this August month. The Lyon County company has won nearly two dozen grand champion ribbons since it opened for business in 1909 – but most of those have come under the ownership of Ronny and Beth Drennan.
Since they took over the business in 1999, Beth said they’ve tried to honor the memory of its original owners with the quality.
“Mr. Broadbent had really good products and recipes and he had won the state fair seven times,” Drennan said. “We felt like we had to live up to that legend.”
Broadbent’s curing process starts with initially rubbing a curing mixture of salt, sugar and sodium nitrate on the ham. It then goes into the curing room for approximately 12 days, after which employees wash off any excess cure. The ham is then put back into the curing room for an additional 40 days before it is sent to a salt equalization room where – over the course of several weeks – the salt is slowly distributed throughout the ham.
Broadbent uses a longer aging process than many larger companies. The company also uses different seasonings on their hams based on their customers’ preference.
Ronny said their product is also dry cured – which gives the meat a saltier taste – unlike many larger companies that wet cure their ham.
“It's those little things that set us apart,” Drennan said. “We don’t sell ham that has been cured for less than six months. We have some products that have been in the curing process anywhere between eight months and two years old.”
Beth said the company’s wholesale business mainly relies on smaller “mom and pop stores” as opposed to larger grocery chains.
The prize-winning ham the Drennans entered into the fair this year sold at the Kentucky Farm Bureau Country Ham Breakfast and Charity Auction broke last year’s record of $5 million dollars – also set by a Broadbent ham.
The money from the auction will go toward a variety of charities across the state, including a new mental health initiative that will be announced later in the year. The funds will also be used to help build 57 homes in Knott County for families that were impacted by the 2022 floods in eastern Kentucky.
