3186. COLONIAL BACON-AND-OYSTER-STUFFED BRISKET

yields 10-12 servings

 

 

20 shucked, minced oysters, liquor reserved

2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage leaves

1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley

1/4 teaspoon ground mace

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 pound sliced bacon, finely chopped

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1 brisket, about 4 pounds

Kosher salt

All-purpose flour

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 cups red wine

 

In a bowl, toss together oysters, sage, parsley, mace, cinnamon, bacon and pepper.

 

With a long, sharp, thin-bladed knife, cut a pocket in the brisket. Make the cut parallel to the cutting board and in the middle of the meat, cutting almost -- but not through -- the sides of the brisket. Sprinkle the brisket generously with salt. Dust it lightly with flour.

 

Preheat the oven to 275 degrees. In a Dutch oven with a tight-fitted lid, heat the oil over high heat. Brown the brisket on both sides. Transfer the brisket to a plate. Stuff the brisket pocket with the oyster-bacon mixture. Using toothpicks, seal the pocket.

 

Drain the oil from the Dutch oven. Return the brisket to the Dutch oven, and pour in the red wine and the reserved oyster liquor. Cover the Dutch oven and bake for 2 1/2 hours. Remove the lid and continue baking until the brisket is well browned and very tender, about 1 hour more.

 

Remove the brisket and transfer it to a plate, reserving the liquid. Cover the brisket with foil and let it rest for 10 minutes. Slice it thinly across the grain, transfer it to a platter, spoon over some of the reserved liquid and serve. 

 

 

bacon recipe courtesy of: Molly O'Neill, "Love Me Tender," Food, The New York Times, October 1, 2000

 

2802. TRIPE, BUTTER BEANS, and SMOKED BACON

yields 4-6 servings


500 grams fresh honeycomb tripe (from the reticulum of the ox)

350 grams smoked bacon, skin removed and reserved

4 grams large onions, thinly sliced

4 carrots, halved

1 leek, halved

1 small bunch thyme in muslin

2 bay leaves

chicken stock

Pinch of mace

500 butterbeans soaked overnight and drained

1 garlic bulb, split

4 ounces butter

4 grams onions thinly sliced

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

2 bunches watercress, stalks trimmed

Salt and fresh black pepper

 

Rinse the tripe several times, then bring to boil in salted water. Remove immediately and drain in a colander. In a large pot, place the tripe, onion, carrots, leek, thyme, and bay leaves. Fill with enough chicken stock to cover by about 1 inch. Add the bacon skin along with any bacon trim, check the seasoning, and add mace. Bring gently to a boil and reduce to a simmer. After 2 hours, check the tripe (it should be soft enough to pierce but not melted into stock). When ready remove the tripe and chill in the fridge. Pass the liquid through a fine sieve and refrigerate. In a separate pot, bring butter beans and water to a boil, then drain through a colander. Return to the pot with garlic and simmer until tender. Remove beans (discarding garlic) from heat and reserve water. Cut tripe into 1-inch pieces. Dice the skinless bacon and fry in a pot until golden, then reserve. Add butter and onions to pot and sweat until tender. Season carefully and add bacon, tripe, butter beans, and reserved tripe stock. Simmer gently, then season with salt and pepper. Add mustard and quickly wilt watercress before serving.

 

 

bacon recipe courtesy of: Fergus Henderson, St. John Restaurant, 26 St. John Street, London, UK EC1M 4AY

2775. APPLE BACON FRITTERS with MAPLE BOURBON GLAZE

yields one dozen fritters


4 ounces water, heated to 110F
1/4 ounce dry active yeast
1 cup diced tart apple

2 tablespoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

3 slices bacon, cooked crisp and chopped

3/4 ounce vegetable shortening

1 ounce sugar

1/8 ounce salt

1/8 teaspoon mace or nutmeg

1/2 ounce non-fat dry milk

1 egg

8 1/2 ounces bread flour

Vegetable oil for frying

Maple Bourbon Glaze (enough to glaze 12 fritters or doughnuts)
1/4 teaspoon gelatin
3 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons bourbon

1/4 cup maple syrup

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 pound powdered sugar

In the bowl of a mixer combine the yeast and the water. Allow to sit for ten minutes.

While the yeast activates mix the apples, bacon, two tablespoons of sugar, and cinnamon. Set aside.

In the same bowl as the yeast mixture mix the shortening, one ounce of sugar, salt, mace or nutmeg, dry milk, egg, and bread flour. Mix with the dough hook on low speed for three minutes. Check the hydration of the dough by touching it; if it is sticky but does not stick it is ready. Mix on medium speed for six minutes.

Add the apples mixture to the bowl and mix on low speed for three minutes, until the apples and bacon are well combined.

Transfer the dough to an oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Allow to ferment for two hours, or until the dough has doubled in size.

Once the dough has fermented turn out onto a well floured board and with the palm of your hand press out the dough into a large rectangle. Cut the dough into the desired shapes, I find squares work well for me, and cover with plastic for thirty minutes.

While the fritters proof heat at least three inches of oil in a deep pot, allowing for two inches of space at the top of the pan to prevent overflow, to 375 F.

Once proofed, fry the fritters in the hot oil for one minute per side. Once fried drain on paper towels while you fry the remaining fritters.

Let the fritters cool slightly while you prepare the glaze.

In a small bowl mix the gelatin with the water.  Allow to bloom for ten minutes.  Once bloomed heat in the microwave for 10 seconds until it is melted.

In a large bowl mix the gelatin with the remaining ingredients and mix until smooth.

Dip the warm fritters into the glaze and turn to coat.  Let the excess drip off before transferring to a rack to dry.

Enjoy warm, or at room temperature.


bacon recipe courtesy of: Kelly Jaggers, Evil Shenanigans, September 11, 2009

1660. BACON-WRAPPED BRAISED CAPON with CAPER SAUCE

1 poularde, rubbed with salt

To do the braising:
1/3 pound bacon or porkfat in 6 slices
some extra, thin slices bacon
1/2 cup chopped suet
15 black peppercorns
8 cloves
5 slices of gingerroot
1 onion, sliced
some sprigs of estragon
some roots of parsley
some chicken broth (optional)

To make the sauce:
2 1/2 tablespoons butter or chicken-dripping
1/3 cup flour
2 cups/1 pint chicken broth
lemon peel, white pepper, 3 cloves, 1 bayleaf
2 finely chopped shallots
1/2 cup capers with the vinegar
1/2 cup white wine
pinch of ground mace
2 egg yolks
small lump of cold butter
6 thin slices of bacon

Preparation in advance: Cover the bottom of a heavy casserole with a layer of thick slices of bacon. Cover this with the suet, herbs and spices. Place the chicken on top of this, and cover the bird with thin slices of bacon (optional). Close the lid, place the casserole on a slow fire to melt the fat, then put it in the oven (175C/350F). Let the chicken simmer for an hour, basting it now and then with the molten fat. If the contents of the casserole are too dry, add some chicken broth.
To make the sauce: Simmer the broth for the sauce with lemon peel, pepper, cloves and bay leafs for twenty minutes. Strain the liquid.

Make a roux: Melt the butter, or use three tablespoons of the dripping fat of the chicken (only when no broth was added). Sauté the shallots, add the flour in one go. Stir with a flat wooden spatula, let simmer on a very slow fire for five minutes. Keep stirring. Now add the strained broth, starting with a small amount. Keep stirring until all the liquid has been absorbed by the roux. Add the next amount of liquid when the roux starts boiling again (keep stirring ...). When all the broth is used, add wine, mace, capers and caper liquid.

To serve: Remove the chicken from the casserole, remove the bacon from the bird. Have a decorous serving dish ready to put the chicken on. Surround it with slices of lemon and/or lime. Show it to your guests at the dinner-table, then take it back to the kitchen to cut the chicken in portions. Arrange the chicken pieces on the serving-dish and pour some sauce over them. Use a saucier for the rest of the sauce.


bacon recipe courtesy of: Keukenboek by Henriëtte Davidis, 1868

1270. AMARETTO SCALLOPS with BACON, CORAL FLOWER and ROASTED GARLIC PUREE

6 large scallops with roe
1 small head of garlic, roasted
1 smallish cauliflower
1 small bunch of chives, snipped
A pinch of mace
A splash of milk
A splash of Amaretto liqueur
2 shallots, finely diced
6 rashers smoked streaky bacon
Squeeze of lemon juice
Olive oil
A handful of flaked, toasted almonds, to serve.

Preheat the oven to Gas 400F.

Peel the outside paper from the garlic and cut the top off the bulb to expose the end of each clove. Drizzle with oil, then wrap loosely in foil to make a parcel like a dim sum and roast for around 30 minutes, until the cloves are soft. Fry the roes for around 30 seconds each side until cooked through. Cut the cauliflower into florets and cook in boiling salted water. Gently sauté the shallots until opaque then squeeze the cloves from their jackets and add to a food processor with the cauliflower, shallots and roes. Blend, then add a splash of milk to loosen the mixture, the mace, chives and a squeeze of lemon juice. Grill the bacon until crisp and keep warm. Drizzle some olive oil on the scallops, then add them to a very hot pan. They will need a couple of minutes each side, no more. When you are ready to flambe the scallops (after a minute or so), add a splash of Amaretto and tilt the pan (away from you!) to light the alcohol and then let it burn off. Serve a blob of the puree, some crispy bacon on top and the scallops on top of that. Scatter over the flaked almonds and serve.


courtesy of: Helen Graves, Food Stories: Seasonal Eating in London

1126. TATTIE SCONE with BACON, FIELD MUSHROOMS and SLOW-ROASTED TOMATOES in WORCESTERSHIRE SAUCE

serves 4


5 fluid oz. Worcestershire sauce
4 plum tomatoes, halved lengthways, seeds and core removed
3 oz. butter
salt and freshly ground black pepper
12 rashers streaky bacon
8 field mushrooms, peeled and thickly sliced
10 oz. cooked mashed potatoes, warm
3 oz. plain flour
1 free-range egg yolk
pinch ground mace
4 free range eggs
2 fluid oz. sunflower oil

Preheat the oven to 400F. Pour the Worcestershire sauce into a pan and place over a medium heat. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer until reduced by just over a third of its original volume. Place the tomatoes onto a baking tray and dot with 1 oz. of the butter, and season well with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Transfer to the oven to cook for 20-25 minutes. Place the bacon onto a clean baking sheet and place in the oven for 5-6 minutes, or until crisp and golden-brown. Heat a frying pan until hot, add 1 oz. of the butter and the mushrooms and fry for 2-3 minutes. Season well with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Place the warm mashed potato into a bowl and mix with the remaining butter and the flour to form a soft dough. Season with the ground mace and salt and freshly ground black pepper. Roll out the potato dough to ½-inch thick. Cut out rectangles approx 4 inches by 2 inches wide. Heat a griddle pan until very hot. Brush the griddle very lightly with oil and add the potato scones. Cook for about 20-30 seconds on each side, or until golden brown and crisp all over. Crack the eggs into a small frying pan and cook over a gentle heat trying to avoid crisp egg white. Cook to your preference.

To serve, place a tattie scone into the centre of each warmed plate, then place some of the mushrooms on top. Place the cooked tomatoes into the same pan as the Worcestershire sauce so that they soak up the flavour, then place them on top of each pile of the mushrooms. Place a rasher of cooked, crisp bacon on top, then add a fried egg on top of that. Place a second tattie scone on top to form a lid. Pour any excess Worcestershire sauce reduction around the plate and serve.


courtesy of: Lawrence Keogh, Saturday Kitchen, BBC Food

811. BACON, LEEK and CRAB CAWL with CAERPHILLY RAREBIT

makes 4 servings


200 grams bacon, chopped
60 grams unsalted butter
1/2 head celeriac, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 large leek
1 teaspoon thyme leaves
1 pinch ground mace
1 pinch salt and fresh ground black pepper
2 slices brown bread, thickly sliced, preferably wholemeal
80 grams Caerphilly cheese, roughly grated
60 ml dark ale
1/2 teaspoon mustard
1 pinch cayenne
600 ml fish stock
50 ml double cream
200 grams fresh crab meat
1 tablespoon flat-leafed parsley, roughly chopped

Place the bacon, butter and celeriac in a heavy-based saucepan over a low heat. Slice the leek in half lengthways, keeping it together by the root end. Slice in half again, keeping it together at the root end. Starting at the green end, chop the leek all the way along into thin shreds, discarding the root afterward. Wash the chopped leek well and add to the pan, along with the thyme, mace, salt and freshly ground pepper. Stir well to coat evenly, cover and cook over medium heat for 6 minutes, stirring now and then. Toast the bread on both sides and reserve, keeping warm. Meanwhile, in a bowl, mix together the Caerphilly, ale, mustard, cayenne and season with salt and freshly ground pepper (more pepper than salt). Spread the Caerphilly mixture evenly over the toasted bread and grill for 4 minutes. Meanwhile, increase the heat of the leek mixture and pour in the fish stock and cream. Bring to the boil and simmer for 2 minutes. Stir in the crabmeat and parsley. Take off the heat immediately and adjust the seasoning if necessary. Add a splash of water or cream if it is not the consistency of a stew. Once the rarebit is golden brown on top, slice each serving in half and serve it at once with the bacon, leek and crab cawl.


courtesy of: Allegra McEvedy, Great Food Live, UKTV

515. TERRINE of VENISON, PORK, and BACON with JUNIPER and PISTACHIO NUTS

Serves 10-12


1 lb minced venison
1 lb ready-minced pork
8 oz rindless smoked streaky bacon, cut into 1/8” strips
30 juniper berries, coarsely crushed
1 dstsp mixed peppercorns, coarsely crushed
4 oz ready-shelled pistachio nuts, cut in half
¼ tsp powdered mace
1 tsp chopped fresh thyme
2 tsp salt
6 fl oz dry white wine
1 fl oz brandy

2lb loaf tin (7 ½” x 4 ¾” x 3 ½” deep) or 3 pint terrine

Pre-heat oven to 150oc (300of, Gas 2)

Place venison, pork, bacon, juniper berries, peppercorns, pistachio nuts thyme, mace, salt, wine and brandy in a bowl. Thoroughly combine using fork or hands. Cover bowl with a cloth and leave to marinate for 2 hours.

Pack the mixture into the loaf tine or terrine, cover the surface with a double thickness of foil. Place in a roasting tin, on the middle shelf of the oven. Pour in about 1” boiling water and cook for 1 ¾ hours.

Remove from oven and leave (with foil on) for 30 minutes.

Place 2 x 1 lb weights on top (or something equivalent ie tins of tomatoes).

When terrine cold place in fridge (keep weights on) and leave overnight.

Remove from fridge an hour before serving. Serve with toast.


courtesy of: Cornbury Park Estate, Charlbury Oxfordshire, England

401. BACON and EGG SOUP

1 lb. good bacon
1/2 cup chopped shallots
3/4 cup frozen spinach or collard greens
1/2 cup water
2-4 eggs
3 cans Campbell's chicken broth
1/3 cup shelled chopped pistachios
3/4 cup fresh cilantro, loosely chopped
3/4 cup grated muenster cheese
several tablespoons heavy cream, to taste
black pepper, sage, mace
2 tablespoons dry sherry
1 packet unflavored gelatin (optional)

Chop the bacon and the shallots both small and fry them together in a pan until the bacon is crisped. Set them aside. Drain off all the grease except a little, and use that and the water to cook the collards until they soften. Turn off the fire and let your pan cool while you beat two or three or four eggs. If you only use two eggs, first sprinkle a packet of unflavored gelatin into your chicken stock. Beat the chicken stock into the eggs. Pour this into the pan with the collards and heat, stirring constantly, until the soup thickens. This will be sudden, so keep your fire moderate and watch closely. While you're stirring, throw in the pistachios and cilantro, and season to taste with black pepper, a good pinch of rubbed sage, and a little mace. When the soup has thickened, turn off the fire and keep stirring. Add the crisp bacon and onions, and a little later the cheese, stirring the whiles until the cheese melts. Temper it up with sherry and cream and serve it forth.

NOTE: You can also make this soup with leftover baked ham, and use the juices from the ham's baking if you're not on a low-salt diet. A very nice addition is queso de freir, also known as queso para freir, queso fresco, queso blanco fresco, and panela. It's a crumbly white Hispanic cheese that doesn't melt when you cook it. If you take a slice and fry it in a little oil, browning it on both sides, it's like an entire slice of the little crispy bits you get around the edges of a grilled cheese sandwich. Take several of these browned cheese slices and use your scissors to cut them up into strips. At the last minute, throw them into the soup in place of the grated cheese.


courtesy of: Teresa Nielson Hayden

321. PIG"S PETTITOES

sufficient for 3 or 4 persons

time: altogether 40 minutes


pigs trotters
pigs liver
pigs heart
1 pint gravy
1 thin slice bacon
1 onion
1 blade of mace
6 peppercorns
3-4 sprigs thyme
butter and flour, to thicken
salt and pepper, to taste

Put the liver, heart and trotters into a saucepan with the bacon, mace, peppercorns, thyme, onion and gravy and simmer gently for 15 minutes. Then take out the heart and liver and mince them very finely. Keep stewing the trotters until quite tender, which will be in from 20 to 30 minutes. Then return the minced liver, thicken the gravy with a little butter and flour, season with salt and pepper. Simmer over a low heat for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Dish the mince, split the feet and arrange them round alternately with sippets (triangles) of toasted bread and pour the gravy in the middle.


courtesy of: Ken Howells, Birmingham, England / The Foody UK and Ireland / http://thefoody.com

167. RAISED PORK PIE with BACON

serves 10


For the fillings:
1.2kg boned pork shoulder
8oz lean bacon
1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage
½ teaspoon each ground mace, freshly grated nutmeg and ground allspice
2 teaspoons anchovy essence
salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the jelly:
2 lb. pork bones
1 pig's trotter
1 carrot
1 onion
1 bouquet garni (celery, bay leaf, thyme and parsley)
12 black peppercorns
4 cloves


For the pastry:
1 lb. plain flour
1 tsp salt
10oz chilled butter, cut into pieces
2 eggs
1 egg yolk
2-3 tbsp cold water

For the jelly: put all the ingredients into a large pan, cover with water and bring to the boil. Cover and simmer gently for 3 hours. Strain through a very fine sieve into a clean pan and boil vigorously until reduced to 1 pint. Season to taste and leave to cool.

To make the filling: cut the pork and bacon into ½-inch pieces. Put half of the pork and 2oz of the bacon into a food processor and process using the pulse button until coarsely chopped.

Scrape into a bowl and stir in the rest of the diced pork, bacon herbs, spices, anchovy essence, 1 tsp salt and some pepper.

Fry a little piece of the mixture in sunflower oil, taste and adjust the flavourings if necessary.

To make the pastry, sift the flour and salt into a food processor or mixing bowl. Rub in the butter until the mixture looks like fine breadcrumbs.

Beat the whole egg with the egg yolk and water and gradually stir into the dry ingredients to make a soft dough. Knead briefly until smooth then cut off one third of the mixture and set it aside for the lid.

Roll out the larger piece and use to line the base and sides of an 8-inch clip-sided cake tin, leaving the excess pastry overhanging the edges.

Preheat the oven to 400F.

To assemble the pie:spoon the pork filling into the tin and slightly round the top of the mixture to give the finished pie a nice shape.

Brush the edge of the pastry with beaten egg. Roll out the remaining pastry and use to cover the top of the pie.

Cut a small hole into the centre of the lid with a small pastry cutter, remove the plug of pastry and leave the cutter in place to retain the hole during baking.

Brush with more beaten egg and decorate with a twisted rope of pastry and pastry leaves. Brush the top with beaten egg.

Bake the pie for 30 minutes, then lower the oven temperature to 350F and continue to cook for a further 1½ hours, loosely covering the pie with a triple-thickness sheet of greaseproof paper once it is nicely browned.

Finally, remove the pie from the oven and leave to cool for 2 hours. Then warm through the jelly and pour into the pie through the hole in the top. Remove cutter used to make the hole in the top. Leave to go cold overnight.


courtesy of: Rick Stein, Seafood Restaurant, Padstow, UK