Allan Benton is a meat maker of the porcine variety and has chefs from around the country clamoring for his tasty pork products. Allan is the owner of Benton’s Smoky Mountain Country Hams in Monroe County, Tennessee and comes from a family with a rich history of curing and smoking meats.
Allan has been running the business for over 30 years now and has achieved a great deal of attention and recognition for his scrumptious creations. In fact, Esquire Magazine called Benton’s the “world’s best bacon” in their August 17, 2009 online article. (NOTE: although Bacon Today certainly doesn’t endorse Esquire Magazine as an authority on bacon, we’re sure Benton’s is mighty tasty)
Benton has a genuine love for the work he does. “When somebody calls me on the phone and says, ‘Oh my, this ham or this bacon was absolutely incredible,’ it makes it so easy to get up and come to work the next morning.” All we can say is thank goodness for folks like Allan Benton. They keep the world supplied with that sweet, sweet bacon we all love so dearly.
For photos and more details, see the full story at:
http://www.wbir.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=112928&catid=2
I adore Benton’s meats. They’re up on the top ten of anything I’ve tasted, and most importantly, my significant other’s top ten. He hasn’t come from a tasting (very meat and potatoes, onion powder was spicy) sort of background, but he’s almost, /i/almost// gotten over it. I’m marrying a full-fledged “hate-it-til-you-hide-it-in-my-food” who formerly said he didn’t like his bacon to taste “smoky”.
And now we’re freezing the drippings on his order to shave off into other recipes.
Recommend? Oh, absolutely. If you’ve ever enjoyed bacon, or even been at a restaurant and accidentally ordered something that wasn’t flavorful enough… Be sure that this will make up for it!
Pros: After growing up in the South and moving to MI, I learned that Wisconsin pork smokers think that they make some good stuff, but not on this level. This is the kind of bacon I grew up with, when my Pa (grandpa, in this case) went up the mountain to “get the tuff.” It was always a day-long affair, and I’d come back with him with a couple sacks of dry beans and some frozen smoked meat from someone “up on the hill” that we had for the next day’s supper. I would nearly believe he went to Benton’s! The unadulterated pork flavor, the amazing balance of meat with a barely-there hit of the sodium that only seems to accent that full flavor.
Cons: The only bad part about Benton’s would be the inconsistency (it shows that it’s handmade), in the four or five times we’ve gotten it mail-order, it’s either unbearably smoky and salty, with no pork flavor, or incredibly succulent, smoky, with a hint of salt and molasses.
Buy at your own discretion, but either way, you shouldn’t be disappointed!
My son and his girlfriend(both chefs) brought me your bacon for our Christmas weekend. So much better than Nueskes. Best bacon ever!
Can someone please give us the address of the place and how to get there from Knox County?
Thanks,
Michael Rader
WAITED 4 WEEKS FOR FOUR # OF BACON
JUST PREPARED THE SECOND # AND IT WAS AS THE FIRST.
OVERLY SALTY AND THE PIECES WERE NOT SLICED THE SAME. UPON COOKING SOME WAS OK OTHERS OVERDONE AND OTHERS UNDERDONE.
DOES EVERYBODY LIKE EXCESSIVE SALTINESS IN THEIR BACON?
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