BLT season

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We’re well-positioned for BLT season at our house this year. Way back in June, well before the first heirloom tomatoes came in, I was walking through Central Park in New York City on my way to see the Richard Serra show at the Museum of Modern Art. But I’d lost my husband. I looked back and there he was in the middle of a path making a cellphone call at the one serendipitous spot that got a signal. Nine o’clock in the morning and he’s ordering bacon! Not just any bacon, but hickory-smoked country bacon from Benton’s in Tennessee. This is fantastic stuff, smoked in a small wood stove smokehouse since 1947 and redolent of hickory and wood smoke. For this season, I laid in 6 pounds. (I did give some of it away to friends.) And instead of getting it thick-sliced, the way it normally comes, I asked for slab bacon, which they vacuum-sealed in 2-pound packages.
A no-mess, no-fuss way to cook the bacon is to lay the slices on a cookie sheet and bake them in a 375-degree oven until crisp, turning them over when the tops begin to brown.
Benton’s smoked country bacon, $5 per pound (minimum order 4 pounds), (423) 442-5003; www.bentonshams.com. I see from the website that orders are backed up several weeks. Not to worry -- Benton’s bacon is also available by mail from the Grateful Palate in Oxnard; $8.95 for 14 oz, (888) 472-5283, www.gratefulpalate.com.

-- S. Irene Virbila

Illustration by S. Irene Virbila