A friend of mine has an annual "Bacon Fest"- a potluck where everthing is bacon. This year there were some really creative additions (BLT Cesar anyone? Bacon vodka, lettuce juice, and the rest of a Cesar). The bacon vodka recipe was found here:
http://www.browniepointsblog.com/2008/01/20/homemade-bacon-vodka/.
This year was really the year of the bacon dessert. I came across a recipe for bacon ice cream a few months ago on David Lebovitz's blog, but didn't have the occasion to try it out until now. I made a few adaptations from the original recipe ie. I made it with higher fat cream because I find the best tasting home made ice cream is mostly whipping cream. I'm not really sure if bacon icecream needs the addition of more fat
. I also candied some pecans and added them to the mix (the extra crunch was very nice), and made the ice cream base maple. Who doesn't love maple syrup and bacon?
Overall I was impressed with how good it actually tasted!
Candied Bacon Ice CreamIngredients
For the candied bacon;
5 strips bacon
about 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
For the candied pecans;
½ cup white sugar
1½ cup raw pecans
For the ice cream custard:
3 tablespoons (45g) salted butter
¾ cup (packed) brown sugar (170g)
1 cup 35% (whipping) cream
1¾ cup 18% (table) cream
5 large egg yolks
2 tablespoons maple syrup
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
To candy the bacon1. Preheat the oven to 400F (200C).
2. Lay the strips of bacon on a baking sheet lined with a silicone mat or aluminum foil, shiny side down.
3. Sprinkle 1½-2 teaspoons of brown sugar evenly over each strip of bacon, depending on length.
4. Bake for 12-16 minutes. Midway during baking, flip the bacon strips over and drag them through the dark, syrupy liquid that's collected on the baking sheet. Continue to bake until as dark as mahogany. Remove from oven and cool the strips on a wire rack.
5. Once crisp and cool, chop into little pieces, about the size of grains of rice.
To candy the pecans6. Warm a heavy pan gently over a medium heat for a few moments. Add the sugar to the pan.
7. Leave the sugar, keeping an eye on it, until it begins to melt.
8. After about 5 minutes the sugar will start to melt and turn liquid around the edges. Now give the pan a good shake and leave it again until about a quarter of the sugar has melted.
9. Using a wooden spoon, give it a gentle stir and continue to cook and stir until the sugar has transformed from crystals to liquid and is the colour of dark runny honey. The whole thing should take about 10 minutes from start to finish.
10. Add the raw pecans and toss to coat.
11. Spread the pecans on a lined baking sheet and place in the fridge to cool.
12. Once cool chop the pecans into little pieces.
To make the ice cream custard13. Melt the butter in a heavy, medium-size saucepan. Stir in the brown sugar. Mix together the creams and add half to the butter/sugar mixture.
14. Pour the remaining cream into a bowl set in an ice bath and set a mesh strainer over the top.
15. In a separate bowl, stir together the egg yolks, then gradually add some of the warm brown sugar mixture to them, whisking the yolks constantly as you pour. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan.
16. Cook over low to moderate heat, constantly stirring and scraping the bottom with a heatproof spatula, until the custard thickens enough to coat the spatula.
17. Strain the custard into the cream, stirring over the ice bath, until cool. Add syrup and vanilla.
18. Refrigerate the mixture.
19.Once thoroughly chilled, freeze in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions. Add the bacon bits and pecans during the last moment of churning, or stir them in when you remove the ice cream from the machine.
With bacon brown sugar (left over from bacon vodka and maple syrup martinis):
And now for bacon cinnamon rolls. They were based on the Joy of Cooking's sweet bun recipe. Cooked crumbled bacon was added during the cinnamon sugar stage:
Out of the oven:
As someone who doesn't usually eat very much meat, let alone bacon, I think I'm done with bacon for a while.
