In our latest attempt to find our flavors locally, it became very clear, very fast that there is something special about Benton's bacon. The unusually thick slices have a wonderful smoky scent even before cooking or opening the package! Once it started cooking, the aroma filled the kitchen like our regular bacon never did. The taste - well, it brought to mind that old saying about "slapping your mama." I do not recommend it, but the bacon is that good. Cured with brown sugar and salt, the bacon is very smokey and is a much thicker cut than you may be used to. When cooked properly though, it has a wonderfully tender bite.On top of taste and texture, the fact that this quality ingredient is produced by a Tennessee, family-owned business sold me. We are very excited to switch to Benton's Bacon! This is the part where we give high fives around the kitchen since we get to enjoy it too. Benton's Smoky Mountain Country Hams is located in Madisonville, Tennessee but ships their hams and bacon all over the country. They have earned quite the reputation. Once we started searching for Tennessee-bred bacon it was impossible to ignore all the praise Benton's receives from publications nationwide. So I had to see for myself, and yes, they lived up to everything I had read and more. This is the kind of ingredient that gets me excited about cooking. The possibilities are endless with this smoky beauty.
Enough musing about our new bacon, come try it for yourself. You are sure to see it at breakfast, wrapped around our thick cut pork chop and probably with a few other goodies along the way. To get your fix when not at the Inn, check out Benton's website for ordering information. This little piggy went to Evins Mill...and was eaten all up!
