Bacon Nation: 125 Irresistible Recipes (42 page)

4 slices bacon, diced

1¼ cups sugar

1 cup heavy (whipping) cream

⅓ cup toasted pecans (see
page 264
), coarsely chopped

1
If you are using a vanilla bean, cut it in half crosswise and set one half aside for another use. Split the remaining half in half lengthwise and, using the tip of the knife, scrape out the seeds into a small bowl and set aside.

2
Cook the bacon in a medium-size skillet over medium heat until lightly browned and the fat is rendered, 5 to 8 minutes, stirring often and adjusting the heat as necessary. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate to drain.

3
Combine the sugar and ⅓ cup of water in a heavy saucepan. Cover the pan and cook over low heat, without stirring, until the sugar dissolves, about 5 minutes. Increase the heat to medium-high and let boil, uncovered, until the sugar turns a rich amber brown, 4 to 5 minutes. If you want a medium-colored caramel, remove the sugar mixture from the heat when it is still a light amber; it will continue to cook and darken off the heat. Watch the sugar mixture carefully as it will change from a rich caramel to a burnt one quickly.

4
Remove the sugar mixture from the heat and, while whisking, gradually pour in the heavy cream. Be careful as you do this as the cream will bubble up wildly. If the sauce hardens, return the saucepan to low heat and whisk until smooth. Add the vanilla bean seeds to the caramel sauce and whisk to blend. Or whisk in the vanilla extract, if using.

5
Place the pan over medium-low heat, stir in the drained bacon and the pecans, and cook, stirring, until the sauce is thick and smooth, 3 to 5 minutes. Serve the caramel sauce warm or at room temperature. The sauce can be refrigerated, covered, for about 1 week and reheated in a microwave oven on high power or on top of the stove in a small pan over very low heat, stirring occasionally until warmed through.

Makes about 5 ½ cups

In childhood, rum raisin ice cream was a puzzlement. Why would you want to ruin a good sweet with yucky booze? There comes a time, however, when we recognize that a little liquor perks up a dessert (and a dessert eater). Hence, this ice cream. We skipped the raisins (you can toss some in) and went straight for the rum-bacon one-two punch. The result is a dessert with the sweet smoothness of homemade ice cream, the salty sweet savoriness of candied bacon, and the pleasing bite of rum.

A word of thanks is due here to the modern ice-cream maker; it’s much less taxing and a good deal more speedy than the eternally arm-wearying hand-cranked rock-salt machine of yore.

4 cups half-and-half (see Note)

⅓ cup packed light or dark brown sugar

5 large egg yolks

⅓ cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Candied Bacon Chips (recipe follows)

4½ teaspoons dark rum or bourbon

1
Place a medium-size saucepan over medium to medium-low heat, add the half-and-half and brown sugar, and whisk them together. Cook gently just until the mixture comes to a boil, whisking occasionally.

2
Meanwhile, as the half-and-half mixture heats, combine the egg yolks and granulated sugar in a medium-size bowl. Using a wire whisk or a hand-held electric mixer, beat the egg yolk and sugar mixture until it is thick and a pale yellow color, 2 to 3 minutes.

3
When the half-and-half mixture has just come to a boil, whisk about one third of it into the egg yolk and sugar mixture. Whisk another third into the egg yolk mixture and then pour the entire mixture into the saucepan. Using a wooden spoon, stir the custard constantly over low heat until it thickens slightly and coats the back of a spoon. Do not let the custard boil or the yolks will overcook and harden.

4
Pour the custard through a wire-mesh strainer set over a large bowl and let come to room temperature. Stir in the vanilla. Cover and refrigerate the custard for 2 hours or as long as overnight. Or, set the custard over an ice bath (a bowl filled with ice water) to chill quickly.

5
Following the manufacturer’s instructions, turn on the ice-cream maker and pour the chilled custard into the chilled freezer bowl. Run the machine until the custard is nearly thickened, 15 to 20 minutes (see Note). Add the Candied Bacon Chips to the custard about one third at a time and mix for 30 seconds to 1 minute after each addition, repeating until all of the bacon chips have been incorporated. Add the rum or bourbon and mix just to blend it into the ice cream, about 1 minute.

6
When done, the ice cream will have a soft, creamy texture. If you desire a firmer ice cream, transfer the mixture to an airtight container and freeze it for about 2 hours. Remove the ice cream from the freezer about 5 minutes before serving to allow it to soften slightly.

Candied Bacon Chips

Makes about
½
cup of bacon chips

Bacon chips, sweetened with brown sugar, are a good addition not only for the rum ice cream but also for sprinkling into mixed green salads and chocolate chip cookie dough or for adding to batters for pancakes, waffles, quick breads, and corn and fruit muffins. They make for little bits of unexpected crunch, wrapped in a salty-sweet package. We also use bacon chips in our recipe for caramelized pears with ice cream.

5 slices bacon (see Note)

5 teaspoons packed light brown sugar

1
Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 400˚F.

2
Line a broiler pan with aluminum foil to make cleaning the pan easier. Set the broiler pan rack on the pan and arrange the slices of bacon on the rack in a single layer so that they do not touch. Sprinkle each slice of bacon evenly with 1 teaspoon of the brown sugar.

3
Bake the bacon until crisp and darkly glazed, 10 to 14 minutes (the baking time will depend on the thickness of the bacon). After the bacon has baked about 6 minutes, to facilitate even browning, rotate the broiler pan 180 degrees so the back of the pan faces the front of the oven.

4
Let the bacon cool for 2 to 3 minutes before using tongs to transfer the slices to a cutting board. When cool, chop the bacon into ¼-inch pieces. Place the bacon chips in a small container, fitted with a lid, and refrigerate or freeze until ready to use. The bacon chips can be refrigerated for 1 week or frozen for up to 2 months. It is not necessary to thaw frozen chips before using.

Serves 4

When you don’t have time to make your own ice cream (which, face it, is most of the time), serving your favorite store-bought premium ice cream with this caramelized fruit and bacon topping will dress it up nicely. Pears have a beautifully soft sweet flesh that melts in your mouth, a happy partner to the salty sweet, crunchy bacon topping. When we pulled this from the oven, we were inspired by the taste of Jacques Torres’s salted caramel ice cream; so the next time we made it we picked up a pint of dulce de leche ice cream. Jacques would have approved. Superb!

In the interests of complete research, we also tasted it with vanilla, chocolate, and chocolate chip ice cream. Superb again! We have resolved to continue researching this interesting question.

3 slices bacon

2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar

2 ripe Bartlett or Anjou pears, peeled, cored, and cut in quarters lengthwise

4½ teaspoons fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 tablespoons (¼ stick) unsalted butter

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

1 pint vanilla or dulce de leche ice cream

1
Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 400˚F.

2
Line a broiler pan with aluminum foil to make cleaning the pan easier. Set the broiler pan rack on the pan and arrange the slices of bacon on the rack in a single layer so that they do not touch. Sprinkle each slice of bacon evenly with 1 teaspoon of the brown sugar.

3
Bake the bacon until crisp and darkly glazed, 10 to 14 minutes (the baking time will depend on the thickness of the bacon). After the bacon has baked about 6 minutes, to facilitate browning, rotate the broiler pan 180 degrees so the back of the pan faces the front of the oven. Let the bacon cool for 2 to 3 minutes before using tongs to transfer the slices to a cutting board. When cool, chop the bacon into ¼-inch pieces and set them aside.

4
Place the pears in a large bowl, add the lemon juice and vanilla, and toss to combine.

5
Melt the butter in a medium-size skillet set over medium to medium-low heat. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of brown sugar and the granulated sugar and, using a long-handled wooden spoon, stir constantly until the sugars are dissolved and the syrup turns a deep golden color, 2 to 3 minutes. Adjust the heat as necessary and watch that the syrup doesn’t get too dark or too hot or it will smoke and burn.

6
Place the pears, with a cut side down, in the syrup. Add the pears carefully as the syrup will be very hot; it helps to use a pair of long-handled tongs. Pour any remaining lemon juice and vanilla mixture from the bowl over the pears. Cover the skillet and cook the pears until just fork-tender, 2 to 3 minutes, turning the pears over in the syrup once or twice.

7
Divide the pears among 4 plates. Scoop a portion of ice cream onto each plate. Sprinkle each serving evenly with the candied bacon chips and drizzle the skillet sauce over all.

Makes sixteen 2-inch cake squares

Here’s a cake that’s a family reunion of many delicious ingredients—apple, cinnamon, bourbon, and maple or vanilla. We use bacon twice as a flavoring agent, once in the cake batter and again sprinkled on top of the baked cake before it’s glazed. We recommend a lean, meaty cut of bacon. If you find that the bacon is very fatty, simply trim off most of the fatty ends of each slice and use another meaty slice or two to supplement what you’ve trimmed away. We used five slices of bacon in this recipe, but if you want to push the bacon flavor a little more, add another slice of bacon to the cake batter and one more to the pecan and bacon topping.