3397. BACON COLLAR with CIDER and APPLE BUTTER

serves 4-6 


1-2 tablespoons olive oil  
2.25 kg bacon collar, rolled and tied 
1 bottles cider 
500 ml chicken stock 
3 bay leaves 
3 sprigs thyme 
120 grams butter 
2 onions, finely chopped 
6 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and chopped into chunks 
200 grams Savoy cabbage, thinly sliced

Preheat the oven to 160C/325F.

Heat the olive oil in an ovenproof casserole dish. Season the bacon collar with salt and freshly ground black pepper and sear in the hot dish until golden-brown all over.

Pour in two-thirds of the cider and all of the stock. Bring to a simmer and add two of the bay leaves and the leaves from two sprigs of the thyme. Place into the oven and cook for an hour and a half, or until the bacon collar is tender. Remove from the oven and set aside to rest.

Melt 20g (1 1/3 tablespoons) of the butter in a large frying pan and fry the onions for 2-3 minutes, or until softened. Add the apples and the remaining herbs and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Pour in the remaining cider and simmer until most of the liquid has evaporated and the apples have broken down.

Add a few spoonfuls of the cooking juices from the pork into the pan with the apples. Beat 80g of the butter into the apples until well combined.

Meanwhile, tip the cabbage into a large pan and place over a high heat. Add a dash of water along with the remaining butter and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Cook for 2-3 minutes, until the leaves begin to soften.

Remove the pork from the casserole and slice. Serve with the buttered cabbage and a few spoonfuls of the apple butter. Drizzle over some more bacon cooking juices.


bacon recipe source: Matt Tebbutt, Market Kitchen, Good Food Channel/UK-TV

2042. CORN-CAMEMBERT ICE CREAM on WAFFLES, BACON PRALINE and CARMEL SAUCE

yields 12 servings


Bacon Praline:
2 cups raw diced bacon (to yield 1 cup crispy rendered bacon)
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon butter

Bourbon Apple Butter:
5 fuji apples, cored and sliced, skin on
5 gala apples, cored and sliced, skin on
3 tablespoons butter + 3 tablespoons butter
1 shallot, sliced
1 vanilla bean, scraped
3 tablespoons bourbon
1 cup sugar

Acorn Squash Jam:
1 acorn squash, peeled and small diced
2 apples (fuji or gala), peeled and small diced
¼ lb butter (or equivalent bacon grease)
3 shallots, small diced
1 cup sugar
2 cups diced bacon

Caramel Sauce:
1 cup sugar
1 cup heavy cream
¼ cup butter

Corn-Camembert Ice Cream:
2 cups corn, scraped and reserve cobs (or substitute frozen or canned cream corn)
2 cups milk
1 vanilla bean, scraped
1 cup sugar
½ lb camembert cheese
8 eggs

Maple Cardamom Syrup:
2 cups maple syrup
¼ teaspoon cardamom pods

Waffles:
1 package waffle mix
1 vanilla bean, scraped
bacon grease

For the Bacon Praline: Slowly render diced bacon until very crispy. Drain bacon grease and reserve for waffles. Heat sugar in a saucepan until it melts. When it becomes a caramel color, be careful not to let it burn and mix in bacon. Add butter and mix until melted. Pour mixture out onto silicone pad and allow to cool until hard. Crack into smaller pieces and process in food processor. Keep airtight at cool room temperature.

For the Bourbon Apple Butter: Melt 3 tablespoons butter and sweat shallots and vanilla. Pour in bourbon and flame. Stir in apples and sugar and cover until soft. Slowly simmer uncovered until all liquid has evaporated. Pass through a food mill. Return mixture to a smaller pot and simmer until fairly thick. Add remaining 3 tablespoons butter. Cover and cool.

For the Acorn Squash Jam: Melt butter and sweat shallots. Add squash and apples and cover. When soft, add sugar and cook down slowly. In a separate pan, render bacon until crispy. Drain and reserve bacon grease. When squash is cooked down to fairly thick consistency, add bacon. Continue to simmer until jam consistency.

For the Caramel Sauce: Heat sugar. In a separate pan, heat cream and butter. When sugar is melted and almost burnt, whisk in cream/butter mixture. Cook for 5 more minutes at a simmer.

For the Corn-Camembert Ice Cream: Scrape corn off the cob and put into saucepot with milk, sugar, and vanilla bean. Bring mixture to a simmer with cobs in the pot. Remove from heat and let mixture steep for 1 hour after removing cobs. Crack eggs and lightly whisk. Reheat corn-milk mixture and temper into eggs. Cook over a double boiler until slightly thickened. Add cheese and blend mixture until very smooth. Push through a fine mesh strainer. Cool custard before spinning in ice cream machine.

For the Maple Cardamom Syrup: Heat syrup with cardamom pods and steep until aromatic. Strain.

For the Waffles: Make waffles according to package using bacon grease instead of oil.

To Plate: Brush caramel sauce onto plate. Place waffle on sauce. Pour maple cardamom syrup over the waffle. Make a quenelle of bourbon apple butter and arrange next to waffle. Scoop corn-camembert ice cream on top of waffle. Put some acorn squash jam next to ice cream. Sprinkle with bacon praline. Shake confectioner's sugar on top. Garnish with a pinch of smoked sea salt.


bacon recipe courtesy of: Chef Lynne Gigliotti, Top Chef Season 7, Episode 1, Elimination Challenge, Bravo-TV

1432. APPLE and BACON BRUNCH PANCAKES

serves four


1/2 pound bacon, cooked crisp and chopped
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
pinch of ground nutmeg
2 large eggs
1/2 cup milk
2 tablespoons apple butter, plus extra for serving
2 Granny Smith apples, peeled and coarsely grated
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter, melted
maple syrup

In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and stir until blended. In another bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, add apple butter and melted butter. Add to the flour mixture, and stir until batter is just blended. Fold in the apples and bacon.

Heat a griddle or large heavy skillet over moderately high heat until it's hot; Spray with non stick spray or brush with vegetable oil. Drop the batter by 1/4-cup measures onto the griddle; cook until bubbles appear on surface and edges begin to brown, about 2 minutes. Turn with a spatula; cook until golden, about 1 minute more. Transfer pancakes to a platter, keep warm in a low oven. Continue process until all pancakes have been cooked.

Serve hot with warm apple butter and maple syrup.


bacon recipe courtesy of: Paula Deen, Smithfield

1153. LAMB'S BRAINS with ZA'ATAR CRUMBS, BACON and APPLE BUTTER

serves four


6 sets lamb’s brains, soaked in milk for 2 hours, or cold salted overnight
2 eggs
1 tablespoon water
3.5 fl. oz. plain flour
2 fl. oz. olive oil
8 rashers streaky bacon
lemon wedges

Poaching liquid
1 lemon, quartered
1 cinnamon stick
4 cloves
Half an onion
2 pints cold water

Apple Butter
7 fl. oz. apple juice
1 Granny Smith apple, peeled and grated
5 oz. cold unsalted butter, finely diced
salt and pepper

Crumbing mix
7 oz. dried breadcrumbs
3.5 oz. parmesan, grated
1 teaspoon Za’atar [the Arabic name for wild thyme, and the mix of spices containing it]
Half teaspoon sumac

Place the brains in a large saucepan with all the poaching ingredients. Bring to the boil, then skim and simmer for 2 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat, and allow the brains to cool in the liquid. When they are cold, remove them from the liquid and split each set in half.

To make the apple butter, tip the apple juice into a pan and bring it to the boil. Simmer until reduced to 50 ml (1.5 fl. oz.). On a low heat, add the grated apple to the syrup, and then tip in half the butter. Whisk until the butter melts into the syrup. As it melts, the syrup will thicken but don’t allow it to froth up or boil. Keep it over a slow and steady heat until all the butter has melted, then slowly add the rest of the butter, bit by bit, whisking all the time to incorporate. Season with salt and pepper, then strain through a sieve and keep warm until needed.

Preheat the grill (broiler) to its highest setting.

To make the crumbing mix, combine the breadcrumbs with the parmesan, za’atar and sumac.

In a shallow dish, lightly whisk the eggs and water to make an egg wash.

Now get a little assembly line ready with a shallow dish with the flour, a dish with egg wash, and another dish of the crumbing mix. First dip the brains into the flour, then into the egg wash and then into the breadcrumbs. Continue until all are crumbed.

Heat the oil in a frying pan and fry the brains until golden brown.

Place the bacon on a baking tray and drizzle with a little of the apple butter. Grill (broil) until crisp and golden, turning once.

Serve 3 halves of brain per person, drizzle with a little apple butter and top with 2 pieces of bacon. Serve with lemon wedges on the side.


courtesy of: Moorish by Greg and Lucy Malouf. Hardie Grant Books, September 2001

1015. BACON BISCUITS with ROASTED APPLE BUTTER

makes about 20 biscuits


10 thin slices smoked bacon (about 5 ounces)
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
Roasted Apple Butter (see below)

In a large skillet, cook the bacon over moderate heat until crisp, about 8 minutes. Drain on paper towels, then finely chop. Pour the bacon fat into a small bowl and let cool; refrigerate until solid. Preheat the oven to 400°. In a bowl, whisk the flour with the salt, baking powder and baking soda. Add 5 tablespoons of the cold bacon fat. Use your fingers to gently blend it with the flour until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Stir in the cream and chopped bacon until a loose dough forms. Scrape onto a lightly floured surface and knead gently until smooth. Roll out the dough to a 10-by-12-inch rectangle about 1/2 inch thick. Cut into 2 1/4-inch squares and transfer to an ungreased baking sheet. Bake the biscuits for 22 minutes, or until golden. Let cool slightly on a wire rack and serve with Roasted Apple Butter.


Roasted Apple Butter

makes about 3 cups

2 3/4 pounds McIntosh apples (about 8)--peeled, quartered and cored
2 cups unsweetened apple juice

Preheat the oven to 450°. Arrange the apples in a large roasting pan. Pour the apple juice over the apples and bake for 30 minutes, or until tender and browned. Lower the oven to 350°. Using a fork or potato masher, thoroughly mash the apples in the roasting pan. Bake the apple puree, stirring occasionally, for 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 hours, or until very thick and deeply browned. Scrape into a bowl and let cool. Serve at room temperature or chilled.


courtesy of: Marcia Kiesel, "20 Thanksgiving Favorites Updated," Food & Wine, November, 2001

690. APPLE BACON POPOVERS

2 large eggs
2 large egg whites
2 cups 1% milk
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 strips bacon
1 large apple
1 tablespoon light, unsalted butter, melted
Cooking Spray
Apple Butter (optional)

In a large bowl, whisk together eggs and egg whites until well-blended. Whisk in milk and set aside. In a medium bowl, combine flour, sugar and salt. Gradually add flour mixture to egg mixture, stirring well with a whisk. Let stand 30 minutes. While batter is standing, preheat oven to 450F. Cook bacon strips until crispy. Drain, let cool, and finely chop. Coarsely grate apple, including peel. Coat a 9-cup popover pan with cooking spray. Fold the bacon, grated apple, and melted butter into batter, stirring until well blended. Pour batter into prepared popover cups until half full. Bake at 450F for 18 minutes. Reduce heat to 325F and bake for 10 minutes more. Serve immediately with apple butter.


courtesy of: Statesman Journal, Salem, Oregon