Bacon-flavored bourbon?
October 23, 2008 by Sharon Thompson
A few weeks ago, Herald-Leader designer Brian Simms introduced the newsroom to chocolate-covered bacon. He was inspired by a Food Network show and made a batch to share with his co-workers.
It appears chocolate-dipped bacon is a tremendous hit around the country and now the latest bacon craze is to make bourbon taste like bacon.
A post on Fine Cooking’s web site, www.finecooking.com, editor Allison Ehri Kreitler posted a blog about infusing Maker’s Mark with the flavor of smoky bacon.
Here’s how Kreitler developed her bacon infusion: “After a few tries I found that 1 3/4 cups Maker’s Mark and the fat from 12 ounces Niman Ranch bacon (about 1/2 cup) gave me the smoky, meaty flavor I was looking for.” Slowly cook the bacon so you don’t burn the fat. Eat all the bacon and let the fat cool just a little (so it doesn’t boil the booze out of the bourbon). Pour the fat into the room-temperature bourbon and let sit, stirring occasionally at first, until the fat solidifies, then refrigerate for two days. Remove the fat layer and strain the bourbon. “Keep refrigerated; I found that the bourbon changes flavor as it sits, so you’ll want to use it fairly quickly.”
Here’s how Brian made chocolate-covered bacon.
1 pound thickly sliced slab bacon
1/2 pound milk chocolate
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place bacon on a cookie sheet and bake until crisp, about 25 minutes. Melt chocolate in double boiler over low heat. Dip crisp bacon in chocolate and place back on sheet tray. Refrigerate for 30 minutes or until ready to serve.
