We just finished a 10 day cure of a 13lb Duroc pork belly purchased from the last of the old-timey hog men-Henry Fudge.

We wrestled it off the smoker yesterday and took it over to a colleague’s home where a $3k Hobart slicer was used to good effect. That’s enough bacon for a solid month of heavy eating at the Scrumptious house.

All 647 Cracker Barrels in the US source their sausage from Purnell’s in Simpsonville, Kentucky. Pull that fact out of your quiver the next time you’re bellying up to a bar and trying to break the ice with strangers.

The New York Times freaked out over Mason’s fried baloney sandwich at Turkey and the Wolf.

WFTM has been broadcasting over the airwaves of Maysville, Kentucky for 70 years. “The World’s Finest Tobacco Market’s” radio call letters is a fascinating glimpse back into old America when a country ham and a poke of tobacco could get country business done in a tidy and effective manner.

High Schoolers up in Kentucky are being taught the art and science of charcuterie. 47 students will cure 62 hams in the program offered by 4-H in Madison County. A few years back I bought a student ham at a shop in Lexington. It’s still sitting on top of my fridge. As you know, a country ham can last for several years as long as it’s not sliced. I’ll get around to eating it one of these years.