Food products as seen on TV (Mind of a Chef) Bentons ham Carolina Gold Rice

[masraum]

I've had a couple of threads about foods that I'd seen on Mind of a Chef like the ham and bacon from Benton Country Hams (apparently, they have sausage too, but don't ship that) or the Carolina Gold rice and other products from Anson Mills.

I'd previously ordered some bacon (last year). It was fantastic! This year, we ordered a whole smoked and aged ham that had been trimmed and deboned (but they send you the whole thing - bone, skin, fat, foot, meat, etc...).
Country Hams, Benton's Country hams, townsend, tn,hams, Country bacon, Bacon, smoky mountains, smoky mountain hams

We also ordered some of the Carolina Gold Rice, Sea Island Red Peas (to make Hoppin' John) and because you have to order 4# worth of stuff, we also ordered some corn meal.
Products | Anson Mills - Artisan Mill Goods

The bacon is heaven. It's so much better than the stuff that you get at the grocery store that they shouldn't be able to call them both bacon. I usually prefer my bacon cooked until it's super crispy which is more than some people like it cooked. I'd read that they recommend not over cooking the bacon. They recommend cooking it on med-low until it's nearly crispy but still flexible. It is perfectly tasty that way and doesn't have to be cooked to within an inch of its life. I prefer it cooked in a skillet, but it also does well in the oven when you are cooking more than will comfortably fit in your skillet. Either way, I agree, that it's best when not over cooked. Your house will smell like smoked bacon for a day or two after you cook it which is not a bad thing at all. This stuff is melt-in-your-mouth pig candy.

The ham is also very tasty with an excellent flavor. On the website they recommend slicing the ham (1/8"-1/4" thick) and pan frying it. (or you can eat it like prosciutto, sliced very thin). It is also very tasty, but if you are on a low sodium diet, beware, this salt cured ham is anything but low sodium, and pan frying it does nothing to reduce the affect.

Apparently, the usual method of cooking a country ham is to wash/scrub it, soak it for a while ahead of time( 36-72 hours from what I could find online), then rinse and boil it. I had a small, ½# chunk after we made Eggs Benedict and some other eating (still a bunch in the freezer too) so as an experiment, I boiled it for a little bit without soaking it first. It's very good that way and less salty than just pan frying. I assume we could still pan fry after boiling if you want fried without the heavy salt. The usual method of boiling is for a whole ham, skin, bone and all, so my experiment wasn't quite the norm. I think the soaking helps reduce the salt content some. It tastes so good, however you cook it, you will be happy (unless you don't like salt).

The Anson Mills site has recipes for all of their products. According to them, because these products are "heritage" they cook differently from the stuff that you can get in the store. I made "Hoppin' John" per Sean Brock's recipe (beans over rice), and it was excellent with good flavor. The method of cooking the rice is a bit different. First you boil the rice, then you drain and rinse the rice, then you spread it out on an edged baking sheet and bake it for a bit to dry the grains a bit, then sprinkle butter over it and bake some more. It comes out very tasty, but it's kind of a pain in the rear compared to more modern methods. This method does produce some nice separate grained rice that's not all clumped together. Apparently you can cook this rice so it is sticky too if that's your goal. I've found (on their website) a more normal method (simmer until the water's gone kind of thing), but haven't tried it yet. The rice is not an aromatic type of rice, so the smell/flavor that you get from something like basmati or jasmine aren't there, but is good. I want to try some more recipes with it.

We made cornbread from the cornmeal and it was very tasty, but I can't say if it is any different from any other corn meal in that regard because this recipe is always good. It is supposed to be a coarse grain corn meal, but is not that coarse compared to the Bob's Red Mill stuff that we get. I'd call it a medium grain cornmeal.

[craigster59]

I ordered the really aged ham.Took it to my local butcher and he sliced it up in Prosciutto type slices.I vacuum sealed it and have some in the freezer. He also cut the bone down to 3" sections and kept the fat and trimmings. I froze that in batches for soup.

I have to say it is some good ass ham. Like Prosciutto but with the mild hickory flavor. The guys at the butcher shop flipped over it. Of course I gave them a hefty sample to snack on.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by craigster59

I ordered the really aged ham.Took it to my local butcher and he sliced it up in Prosciutto type slices.I vacuum sealed it and have some in the freezer. He also cut the bone down to 3" sections and kept the fat and trimmings. I froze that in batches for soup.

I have to say it is some good ass ham. Like Prosciutto but with the mild hickory flavor. The guys at the butcher shop flipped over it. Of course I gave them a hefty sample to snack on.

Nice, I'm glad you like it as well.

From what I understand, if you call and order over the phone, you can talk about and possibly request different ages of ham. I think they have stuff from 8-24 months old.

We'll be ordering again, I'm sure.