Salt, Time, and the Smoky Mountain Ham: A Conversation with Darrell Benton
Category: Event Calendar
Date and Time
- Wednesday, Oct 14, 2026 5:30pm - 7:30pm
Location
Museum of Design Atlanta
1315 Peachtree St
Details
In 2009, Esquire called Benton’s Smoky Mountain Country Hams in Madisonville, TN the best bacon in the world. James Beard named Allan Benton, the man behind Benton's, to its list of people who have shaped American food and drink. Sean Brock, David Chang, Tom Colicchio, and Daniel Boulud have all put it on their tables.
Benton’s founder Allan Benton has spent more than 50 years working out what salt, smoke, and time can do to a leg of pork. Darrell left a career as a radiologist to join him, and now spends his days in the curing rooms, walking past hams that have hung as long as forty months.
That same smokehouse lends its hickory smoke to another project: High Wire Distilling's Smoked Jimmy Red Bourbon, made from a rare heirloom corn that hangs in the smokehouse beside the hams before it travels to Charleston to be distilled.
Join us at MODA for a conversation with Darrell Benton about craft, patience, and what a process this slow asks of the people who keep it going. The evening closes with a tasting of Benton's country ham and bacon alongside the Benton's Smoked Jimmy Red Bourbon.
This event is generously supported by Studio Fieldwork.
