2432. BLT BURGERS with HONEY TREACLE-GLAZED BACON, GRILLED LETTUCE and SMOKY TOMATO MAYONNAISE

For the honey treacle-glazed bacon:
18 slices thick cut applewood smoked bacon, divided
2 1/2 tablespoons honey
2 teaspoons treacle
2 teaspoons sherry vinegar
pinch ground cayenne

For the grilled lettuce:
4 leaves radicchio
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 tablespoon sherry vinegar
1/2 tablespoon Dijon mustard

For the smoky tomato mayo:
1 large ripe tomato
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 clove garlic
180ml mayonnaise
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the burgers:
900 grams minced steak
1/4 teaspoon finely chopped fresh tarragon leaves
2 teaspoons salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Vegetable oil, for griddle pan
175 grams Comte or Gruyere, grated
6 hamburger buns, split

Preheat a non-stick frying pan over a medium high heat.

Roughly chop six of the bacon slices, and add to the pan. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the bacon just barely begins to turn crispy, about for 3 to 4 minutes. Add the cooked bacon to a food processor and process for 4 to 5 seconds. Set aside for later use in the burgers.

For the honey treacle-glazed bacon: In a small mixing bowl, combine the honey, treacle, vinegar and cayenne pepper, and mix until well combined. Brush the remaining 12 bacon slices on both sides with the honey mixture.

Heat a large fireproof non-stick pan on the griddle. Add half the bacon and cook over a medium high heat until crispy, about 5 minutes, flipping once. Drain on paper towels. Repeat with the remaining bacon.

For the griddled lettuce: Soak the radicchio leaves, for about 10 minutes, in an ice bath to lessen the amount of bitterness. Remove the leaves from the ice bath and pat dry with paper towels. Brush the leaves with 1 tbsp oil.

Put on the griddle and cook briefly on each side. Transfer to a cutting board and cut into 2.5cm-wide strips.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the remaining 1 tbsp of oil, the sherry vinegar and Dijon mustard. Add the radicchio and toss to coat.

For the smoky tomato mayo: Put the tomato on the griddle and cook for 6 to 8 minutes, turning occasionally, until most of the skin has blackened. Transfer to a small bowl and cover with cling film. After 10 minutes, squeeze the tomato into a strainer to remove the seeds and most of the skin (you can leave a little bit of the burnt skin). Discard the seeds and skin.

In the bowl of a food processor, combine the tomato, smoked paprika, garlic and mayonnaise and puree. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper.

For the burgers: Combine the beef, reserved bacon (that was chopped in the food processor), tarragon, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Mix well, handling the meat as little as possible to avoid compacting. Divide the mixture into six equal portions and form into burgers to fit the size of the buns.

Brush the griddle pan with vegetable oil. Arrange the burgers in the pan and cook, turning once, just until done, about 4 minutes on each side for medium-rare. During the last few minutes of cooking, top with equal amounts of cheese and put the buns, cut side down, on the outer edges of the griddle to toast lightly.

Spread a generous amount of the smoky tomato mayo on the cut side of the buns. Top the bottoms with two slices of honey treacle-glazed bacon, a cheese-topped burger and equal amounts of grilled lettuce. Cover with the bun tops and serve.


bacon recipe courtesy of: Great British Menu, Food Network UK, 111 Buckingham Palace Road, London, SW1W 0SR

2074. SOLE poached in CIDER SAUCE with PARSLEY and BACON CRUMBS and CAVOLO NERO

serves two


For the parsley bacon crumbs
3 rashers treacle-cured bacon
small handful parsley, leaves and tender stems only
handful stale breadcrumbs

For the cavolo nero
5oz cavolo nero (Italian kale), thickly shredded
1 tablespoon olive oil
knob of butter
1 garlic clove, finely diced

For the sole
about 10 live mussels, cleaned and debearded
10fl oz good quality dry cider
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 banana shallot, finely diced
1 fresh bay leaf
2 sprigs fresh thyme
2 fillets sole
3½fl oz fish stock
about 5 tablespoons double cream
salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the parsley bacon crumbs, fry or grill the bacon until really crisp then drain on kitchen paper. Place in a food processor along with the parsley and breadcrumbs and pulse until you have a crumbly consistency. Set aside.

For the cavolo nero, blanch the cavolo nero in a pan of salted water for 3-4 minutes, or until just tender. Drain thoroughly and pat dry with kitchen paper or a clean tea towel.

Heat the oil and butter in a frying pan over a medium-high heat and fry the garlic for one minute until fragrant then add the cavolo nero and fry for 3-4 minutes. Keep warm.

For the mussels, if any of the mussels are open, tap them lightly on a hard surface. If they don't close, discard them.

Place the mussels in a pan with a splash of the cider, cover the pan and steam over a high heat for about 3-4 minutes, or until the mussels have opened. Discard any mussels that haven't opened. Remove the meat from the shells and set aside. Discard the shells.

Heat the olive oil in a wide pan over a medium heat and fry the shallots with the bay leaf and thyme for a minute or two. Lay the fish on top of the shallots and pour in enough of the cider and fish stock to just cover the fish (you may not need all of it). Simmer for about three minutes until the fish is opaque and cooked. Carefully remove the fish from the pan and set aside on a warm plate.

Increase the heat to high and boil the liquid for 3-4 minutes until reduce in volume by half. Remove the bay leaf and thyme then stir in the cream and season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Stir the mussels into the sauce then place the fish on top again and cook for a minute or two until heated through.

To serve, place the cavolo nero onto serving plates and top with the sole. Spoon over the sauce and sprinkle with the bacon parsley crumbs.


bacon recipe courtesy of: The Hairy Bikers, The Hairy Bikers' Cook Off, BBC-Food

1869. ROAST COLLAR of BACON with BLACKENED CRACKLING and CUMBERLAND SAUCE

serves eight



2.25kg/4lb 15¼oz collar of bacon
1 tablespoon molasses or black treacle
salt flakes

For the Cumberland sauce
1 medium lemon
1 medium orange
4 heaped tablespoons good-quality redcurrant jelly
4 tablespoons port
1 heaped teaspoon mustard powder
1 heaped teaspoon ground ginger
braised red cabbage, to serve

Preheat the oven to 240C/460F/Gas 9.

First of all, using a very sharp pointed knife, score the skin of the bacon in a criss-cross pattern, making little 1cm/½in diamonds (insert the tip of the knife only, hold the skin taut with one hand and drag the tip of the knife down in long movements).

To cook the bacon, warm the molasses or black treacle slightly (if it's very cold) then use a pastry brush to lightly coat all the little diamonds. Next, sprinkle the skin with salt flakes, pressing them well in, then place the joint in a roasting tin skin-side up (if it won't stand straight, use a couple of wodges of foil to prop it up).

Place the roasting tin in the oven and after 25 minutes turn the heat down to 180C/350F/Gas 4, and continue to cook for a further 1¾-2 hours. It should feel tender all the way through when tested with a skewer. Leave it to rest for at least 30 minutes after coming out of the oven.

For the Cumberland sauce, first, thinly pare off the zest of both the lemon and the orange using a potato peeler, then cut into very small strips 1cm/½in long and as thin as possible. Boil them in water for 5 minutes to extract any bitterness and drain well.

Now place the redcurrant jelly in a saucepan with the port and melt, whisking them together with a mini whisk over a low heat for 5 or 10 minutes.

In a serving bowl, mix the mustard and ginger with the juice of half the lemon until smooth, then add the juice of the whole orange, the port and redcurrant mixture, and finally the zests. Whisk well and the sauce is ready to use.

Serve with braised red cabbage and Cumberland Sauce, which is always served at room temperature. (Cumberland Sauce keeps well in a screw-top jar in the fridge for up to two weeks.)


bacon recipe courtesy of: Delia Smith, Delia's Classic Christmas, BBC-Food

1868. SMOKED TROUT FISHCAKES with TREACLE-CURED BACON

serves four


For the fishcakes
1 large smoked trout
100 grams mashed potato
100 grams plain flour
1 egg
10 grams breadcrumbs
vegetable oil, for deep-frying

For the roasted beetroot
8 baby beetroot
1 sprig thyme
1 dash of olive oil

For the dressing
1 egg yolk
2 tablespoons grain mustard
1 dash of cider vinegar
1 pinch white sugar
1 dash of vegetable oil

To serve
8 rashers treacle cured bacon, griddled
200 grams rocket

For the beetroot: roast in foil with thyme and olive oil for 20-25 minutes until soft. Leave to cool then peel.

For the dressing: whisk all of the ingredients together.

For the fishcakes: flake the fish into a bowl, then mix with just enough warm mashed potato to bind. Roll into balls the size of a large hazelnut. Coat the balls in the flour, egg and bread crumbs. Just before needed, heat the oil in a deep fat fryer to 180C then deep fry the fishcakes for 2-3 minutes until golden brown. Drain on kitchen paper.

Serve the fishcakes with the roasted beetroot, bacon and the rocket drizzled with the dressing.


bacon recipe courtesy of: Paul Merrett, Market Kitchen, UKTV-Food

346. SAVORY APPLE and BACON PUDDING

Suet pastry:
8 oz. self-raising flour
1 level teaspoon salt
1/2 level teaspoon dry mustard
4 oz. suet, finely chopped
about 1/4 pint cold water

Filling:
1 lb. streaky bacon, roughly chopped
4 oz. cabbage heart, chopped fine
1/2 lb. cooking apples, peeled, cored and diced
1 large onion, chopped fine
2 level tablespoons black treacle
pepper to taste

Mix all filling ingredients together. Into another bowl sift flour and salt together. Add suet and toss all together. Mix to stiff dough with the water. Roll out two-thirds of dough to line 2 1/2 pint well greased pudding basins. Fill with bacon and vegetable mixture and cover with lid made by rolling out the rest of the dough. Cover with greased greaseproof paper and steam steadily for 3 hours.


courtesy of: Denise Strickland / Haighs Retail & Catering Butchers, Haighs (Workington) Ltd., 17 Pow Street, WORKINGTON, Cumbria, CA14 3AG