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Salt, Time, and the Smoky Mountain Ham: A Conversation with Darrell Benton

  • Museum of Design Atlanta 1315 Peachtree Street Northeast Atlanta, GA, 30309 United States (map)

In-person at MODA


MODA members get discounts on events!
From 9/10/26, MODA members should click on “Register Here,” then log into our new system to receive discounts. Further details are in an email sent to you on 9/10/26.


About the Event:

In 2009, Esquire called Benton's 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 Smoky Mountain Country Hams in Madisonville, Tennessee, is run by Allan and his son Darrell. Allan has spent more than fifty 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.


What to Expect:

  • Arrive early to explore MODA's latest exhibition, SALT: A Design Story

  • The story behind a bacon Esquire once called the best in the world

  • A conversation with Darrell Benton on how salt and team turn meat into something delicious

  • The Benton's method explained: hand-rubbed salt, hickory smoke, and a lot of patience

  • Tastings of Benton's country ham and bacon, paired with High Wire Distilling's Benton's Smoked Jimmy Red Bourbon

  • Time to talk with Darrell and other guests over food and drink


Registration

$26.25 for MODA Members | $35 for Future Members


About Benton's Smoky Mountain Country Hams and Darrell Benton

Benton's Smoky Mountain Country Hams has operated in Madisonville, Tennessee, for more than 50 years under Allan Benton, who learned the trade from his grandparents in Scott County, VA. The method has stayed close to what Hicks taught: salt rubbed in by hand, hickory smoke, mountain air, and a wait of months or years. Lean decades gave way to a following among chefs across the South, and Benton's country ham and bacon now appear on menus around the country.

Darrell Benton, Allan's son, grew up working at the smokehouse after school and during summers, then left for college and, in 2007, medical school. He practiced as a radiologist in Knoxville before recently returning home to join his father.

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Exhibit Tour of SALT: A Design Story

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Digital Art Studio: Bewitched Worlds