[music playing]
It's the day before the big cook,
and I've got one last very important stop on the border
of the Great Smoky Mountains is the National
Park that is inhabited by the Cherokee Indians.
I've heard that there is a Cherokee dish that I
need to taste to believe.
We are right in the thick of the woods.
Malia, there you are.
[speaking cherokee]
[speaking cherokee] what does that mean?
It means, hello, Gordon, and how are you?
I'm so happy to be here.
Now Hominy?
Hominy.
Is a very unique traditional Native American food.
It's basically corn on steroids, and I'm finally
about to see how it's made.
The process of turning the corn to Hominy
just relies on this ash, this hickory ash, and the corn,
and water and heat.
Oh really?
Yeah, first off, if you can finish getting
the rest of these kernels off, and once
you get a few of them-- see?
You're looking like a pro.
Gotcha.
And then we're going to come over with our ash
and go over to the fire.
That ash will turn it black won't it?
It's the lye that's in the ash that we need to remove
the coat off of the kernels.
It makes it easier to digest.
GORDON RAMSAY(VOICEOVER): Now I know why there's
such a buzz around this dish.
There is lye in Hickory ash, which is extremely corrosive.
I'm excited to be shown what this unique ingredients
will do to humble corn kernels.
And it also makes some more amino acids available to you,
and you have less vitamin deficiencies.
GORDON RAMSAY(VOICEOVER): It makes sense that the Cherokee
developed a recipe that would maximize nutrients,
but I'm not sold on this dish just yet.
So does the ash turn it bitter?
It doesn't turn it bitter, but it
does give it a different taste.
Yeah, it doesn't look appetizing.
Well, I'm sure sometimes when you make
a dish it doesn't look that appetizing,
until you're all the way down right.
GORDON RAMSAY(VOICEOVER): Malia has
obviously never seen me cook.
While we wait for this caustic mixture to work its magic,
I learn about the traditional way of grinding corn.
Straight in.
Yes.
yes.
All right.
Does that go in there?
You just--
Switch.
Is that right?
Around, how?
What do you think?
Well it looks like the sort of that ends too big for the hole,
but then that doesn't.
Now let's try this.
How many kids do you have?
Well no.
Malia please.
[beep] hell.
Honestly.
I'll give you a little help.
It won't go down the hole.
Turn it around.
Oh you do turn it around,
You do turn it around.
So the secret is not to go too hard, right?
Right.
Yeah.
I'll have to teach you how to say, help me in Cherokee.
Yes, please.
[speaking cherokee]
[speaking cherokee] It means help, and right
now I need a [beep] ton of it.
So you are using a lot.
Am I?
Look how slow you're going.
Work smarter, not harder.
Yes, yes ma'am.
Indigenous science.
Gotcha.
Slow and steady.
Here we go.
It doesn't feel right.
[laughing]
GORDON RAMSAY(VOICEOVER): I'm sure you'd
like to keep watching me awkwardly poke around,
but thankfully it's time to try our Hominy,
which has being thoroughly rinsed and mixed with beans.
That looks I mean it's almost like a sort of French
Cassoulet, you know like a bean stew.
Yeah.
See lovely.
I've been waiting for that all day.
That is delicious.
Oh my God.
The corn and the beans on a different level.
She elevated that dish into something quite luxurious.
That Cherokee history is so prevalent today,
and I need to tap into that.
If I don't tap into that, I'm dead meat.
See ya.
Thank you.
[music playing]