The Delicious Expeditions Of Laura and Clark: Benton's BACON


Madisonville, Tennessee

Driving towards Nashville, Tennessee Laura and I were wondering out loud if there might be any fun stops on the way to Raleigh. We both have a love of Bacon and other cured meats and quickly came to realize that Benton's might be on the way. Living in the Napa Valley many area chefs utilize Benton's incredibly smoky bacon. We've seen it featured at pig related events served in a Mason jar, in fine restaurants resting atop freshly made biscuits with peach jam, and EVEN in a cocktail. Laura ordered a Benton's Bacon Old Fashioned at the Patterson House in Nashville. Bacon infused 4 Roses Bourbon is mixed with housemade coffee-pecan bitters, maple syrup and orange rind garnish. DeeeeeeLICIOUS.

Our genuine interest in visiting Benton's turned into an obsession after that cocktail. We arrived at the old-fashioned store and stood in line trying to figure out how much pork product we could possibly eat over the next few months. We settled on the incredibly smoky and tasty fresh pork sausage (sold only in a cloth sack, only on site), five pounds of bacon trimmings ($10), two pounds of sliced country bacon ($12), four ounces of Prosciutto ($6), and two Pounds of thick cut smoked country ham. In about five minutes our car would smell like a bbq pit.
Before we left we were fortunate enough to get a tour of the place and learn more about how they make their products. Their bacon is cured in salt and brown sugar for 10 days, then hung for seven days, before being smoked for a whopping THREE days! 99% of their bacon is smoked. The country hams are a more time consuming process. They are rubbed with the same cure for a couple weeks, before being hung in mesh netting for a MINIMUM of 9 months. This is not your salty as all sin country ham that you can barely eat. The hams have a nice mild salt taste similar to prosciutto and a great texture. The country hams are available smoked or unsmoked, and are interestingly smoked for three days just like the bacon. This leaves the country hams with a nice gentle smoke, whereas the bacon is a very intense smoke flavor. Both are excellent in their own way. We've made a delicious smoked sausage gravy for some homemade buttermilk biscuits to sop up with a poached egg on top, used the country ham to flavor kale braised in duck stock, and served Brussels sprouts roasted with the bacon, onion, rosemary, and a light red wine cream sauce. If you are driving through Tennessee you have to stop by the store. They are proud and welcoming to visitors and gave us a great tour. The employee who gave us the tour said "Every high school kid in the town should come by here to see how it's done. It's not rocket science, and every person should know how to cure their own meat just in case." We couldn't agree more. You can order some online here: http://bentonscountryhams2.com/