3883. BACON BOURBON FRUITCAKE

1 c raisins
1 c chopped, pitted dates
1 c chopped dried apples
1 c bourbon
1 c brown sugar
6 T butter
4 T bacon grease (see syrup recipe below)
1 c apple juice
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 ¾ c all purpose flour
1 ½ tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
2 eggs
¼ to ½ cup toasted pecans, broken

Bourbon Maple Bacon syrup
1 lb bacon, thick cut, double smoked, cut to ½ inch pieces
6 oz bourbon
1 ½ c maple syrup

Fry bacon (in 2 batches, if needed) over medium heat until golden brown. Drain off a good portion of the grease and set aside for later use in the fruitcake. OFF THE HEAT, CAREFULLY add the bourbon to bacon in the pan, stirring and scraping the bits off the bottom. Add in your maple syrup and stir. Increase heat to med/high until bubbling well. Reduce heat to low and simmer gently, stirring occasionally, for about 20 minutes. Remove from heat and let it cool for a bit. Transfer to a container and cover, refrigerate overnight.

The next day, skim the fat from the surface and using a slotted spoon, remove the bacon from the syrup mixture for use in fruitcake. Refrigerate syrup until you’re ready to baste the cakes.

Fruitcake:

Combine dried fruits, add bourbon and macerate overnight or microwave 5 minutes to rehydrate fruit.

Place fruit and liquid in a non-reactive pot with the sugar, butter, bacon grease, apple juice and cinnamon. Bring mixture to a boil stirring often, then reduce heat and simmer for 5-10 minutes. Remove from heat and cool for at least 15 minutes.

Preheat oven to 325.

Combine dry ingredients and stir carefully into the fruit mixture. When combined, stir in eggs one at a time, then fold in nuts and reserved bacon. Try not to overmix. Spoon into a 10 inch non-stick loaf pan and bake for 1 hour, or mini loaf pans and check doneness after 20 minutes with a toothpick.

remove from oven and place on a cooling rack. Baste with Bourbon Maple Bacon syrup and let cool completely before turning out of the pan.

When it is completely cool, place in a tight sealing, food safe container and put in the refrigerator. Once or twice a day for 3 days, baste the cake on all sides with syrup mixture.


bacon recipe source: Megan Schettler Schug, "Bacon Saves the Fruitcake!", KIOA 93.3, Iowa, November 27, 2013

2682. SUGAR-ROASTED PEACH and CORNBREAD SUNDAES with BACON SYRUP

serves eight 


For the cornbread:  
4 oz. (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened; more for the baking dish  
9 oz. (2 cups) unbleached all-purpose flour; more for the baking dish  
3 oz. (1/2 cup) fine yellow cornmeal  
2 teaspoons baking powder  
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup whole milk
1/2 cup sour cream

For the bacon syrup:
6 slices thick-cut bacon, preferably applewood-smoked
3/4 cup pure maple syrup
1/4 cup honey

For serving:
8 sugar-roasted peach halves, warmed (recipe below)
Vanilla gelato or ice cream
Minced fresh sage, for garnish
Aleppo pepper flakes, for garnish (optional)

For the sugar-roasted peach halves:

2 slices thick-cut bacon
4 ripe semi-firm medium peaches (about 8 oz. each), halved and pitted
2 teaspoons raw sugar, such as demerara or turbinado
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 large sprigs fresh summer or winter savory, thyme, or rosemary

For the sugar-roasted peach halves: Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 450°F. Cook the bacon in a 12-inch cast-iron skillet over medium heat, flipping occasionally, until crisp, 5 to 8 minutes. Drain on a plate lined with paper towels. Pour the bacon fat from the skillet into a small heatproof bowl, leaving a slick of fat in the skillet; you’ll need 4 tsp. reserved fat. (If you don’t have enough, make up the difference with extra-virgin olive oil.) Raise the heat under the skillet to medium high.  Sprinkle the cut sides of the peaches evenly with the sugar and a tiny pinch each of salt  and pepper. Arrange the peaches in the skillet cut side down and tuck the herbs around them. Tear the bacon slices in quarters and tuck the pieces around the peaches. Drizzle 2 tsp. of the reserved bacon fat evenly over the peaches and let them cook undisturbed until the cut sides begin to brown, about 5 minutes.  Sprinkle the uncut sides of the peaches with a tiny pinch of salt, then transfer the skillet to the oven and roast until the peaches are just tender, about 10 minutes.  Flip the peaches, drizzle with 2 tsp. more of the reserved bacon fat, and continue to roast until they’re tender but not falling apart, about 5 minutes more. Enjoy the bacon as a cook’s treat, or save it for another use; discard the herbs. Let the peaches cool slightly before serving.  

 

Make the cornbread: Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 375°F. Butter and flour an 8-inch square baking dish. In a large bowl, whisk the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a large bowl with a hand-held electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Gradually beat in the eggs, one at a time, until well combined. Adjust the mixer speed to low and add the cream, milk, and sour cream; mix until combined. The batter may look curdled at this point. Add the dry ingredients, mixing until just combined and scraping down the sides as needed. Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish, smooth the top, and firmly tap the dish on the counter to break any air bubbles. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 40 minutes. Let the cornbread cool in its dish on a rack until warm.  

 

Make the bacon syrup: In a 12-inch skillet, cook the bacon over medium heat, flipping occasionally, until crisp, 5 to 8 minutes. Transfer to paper towels to drain and then coarsely chop. Pour off all but 1 Tbs. of the fat from the skillet. Add the maple syrup and honey to the skillet and heat over medium heat, stirring to combine. Return the bacon to the skillet and stir to combine and heat through, about 5 minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat and let the syrup cool to warm.  

 

Serve: Cut eight 2-inch cubes from the cornbread (you’ll have leftover cornbread). If made ahead, warm the cubes in a 250°F oven for 10 minutes, or lightly toast them in a toaster oven. Put a cube of cornbread on each of 8 plates. Arrange the peaches and scoops of gelato near the cornbread. Top with the bacon syrup, sage, and a tiny pinch of Aleppo pepper, if using.

 

 

bacon recipe courtesy of: Bill Taibe, Fine Cooking, Number 118, July, 2012, pp. 84-85 

2127. GOAT CHEESE PANNA COTTA with BACON SYRUP and CASHEWS

makes eight servings


3 cups cream
1 cup goat’s milk
1 envelope powdered gelatin, bloomed in 3 tablespoons water
7 ounces goat cheese
1 packed cup of 1/4-inch diced bacon
3/4 cup maple syrup, B-grade
2 tablespoons toasted, crushed cashews
few pinches of Maldon sea salt
handful of small arugula leaves

Gently heat the cream and milk in a saucepan. When hot, whisk in the bloomed gelatin. Whisk in the goat cheese until the mixture is smooth, and pour into 8 4-ounce molds. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours, preferably 12.

Cook the bacon in a skillet until crisp. Deglaze the pan with 1 cup water and the maple syrup and reduce until two cups remain. Strain, discard the bacon, and return the syrup to a small saucepan and whisk over high heat for 3 to 4 minutes, until the syrup thickens. Allow to cool, whisking occasionally to make sure the fat does not separate. Once refrigerated, the syrup will thicken further. Bring to room temperature. Unmold the panna cottas onto 8 plates and drizzle with syrup. Sprinkle with cashews and sea salt, and garnish with arugula.


bacon recipe courtesy of: Chef Wylie Dufresne, wd~50, 50 Clinton Street, New York, New York 10002, (212) 477-2900