The Father and Son Dream Team Behind Benton’s Country Hams

With the help of a milk crate, Darrell Benton cured his first ham by age 5. And by the time he started his radiology residency at East Tennessee State University, he sorely missed the smoky aroma of the Madisonville, Tenn., ham shop he grew up in. “We lived behind the smoke house, so I could walk 100 yards and be there,” says Darrell, 41, whose dad is Allan Benton, owner of the beloved Benton’s Smoky Mountain Country Hams. “My dad and granddad were always there. It was a warm place where I loved spending time,” says Darrell. 

Darrell sliced, labeled, and vacuum-packed through college until he left to pursue a career in medicine. After seven years as a radiologist, he quit his practice to rejoin the family business in 2023. “I knew I was going to like coming back, but I didn’t know I was goin to love it. Getting to learn from dad every day is invaluable,” he says. 

Some heartburn was involved after Allan heard the news, and he tried to talk Darrell out of it. “I remembered how hard it was to help finance a medical degree, and I knew how much time he put into it,” the elder Benton recalls. “But it was worth everything to know he’s happy.” After 52 years in the business, the 77-year-old patriarch still is. “He has that same passion,” says Allan. 

The duo are planning a charcuterie research trip to Italy and Spain later this year, but according to Allan, “nothing will ever change about our core process.”

Benton’s dry ham cure is an original recipe passed down from Allan’s grandparents and made with food-grade salt, brown sugar, and red pepper. A bit of nitrite was eventually added because “if the ham doesn’t have nitrite or nitrate, the USDA requires a salt content of 10%, and that’s too salty,” says Allan, who omits nitrite from their bacon cure, using 75% salt, 25% brown sugar, and black pepper. The hams are aged for 10-24+ months, and the bacon is cured for 3 weeks and hickory-smoked for 2-3 days.