Bacon-infused Old Fashioned Cocktail

I recently had a similar cocktail at the Ravenous Pig in Orlando, Florida (wonderful experience there). I found several recipes for bacon-infused bourbon online, but decided to try it with rye as I prefer that spirit for Old Fashioned cocktails.

 

I picked a happy medium of the recipes I found for the amount of bacon drippings to use (from 1 oz. fat to 750 ml liquor, to 1 cup fat to 2 cups liquor {at Restaurant August}). I used about 1/4 cup of my homemade bacon (using the MC cure) drippings that I had saved in the refrigerator with 750 ml Old Overholt Straight Rye whiskey.

 

You  add the liquor to the melted fat and agitate the jar frequently over 6 hours, warming as needed to keep the fat liquid; then freeze overnight to solidify the fat for removal.

 

The recipe for the infusion and cocktail that I found on the New York Magazine site called for maple syrup which was also listed as an ingredient in the Ravenous Pig menu. I was so happy I already had some maple syrup on hand.

 

The Ravenous Pig used the maple glazed bacon strip garnish. I wanted to use that idea, but I didn’t want to take 20 minutes to cook up just a couple of slices of my homemade bacon so I (gasp!) used my “emergency freezer bacon” – Hormel Microwave Ready bacon that I keep in the freezer for bacon emergencies (anyway, it’s still BACON). This was very easy to do and I think the cocktail is very good.

Bacon Jam and Sous Vide Egg Yolk Sandwich

I love egg yolks on toast, but find rubbery egg whites a crime against nature. I used to make Eggs Mollet in my Chef’s Choice egg cooker and carefully (and frequently unsuccessfully)  try peel off the whites for a spreadable egg yolk “curd” for my bacon and egg sandwich.

 

Since I bought my Sous Vide Supreme, I have learned to cook eggs at 64C for 1 hour to produce eggs that can be denuded of the (nasty, jiggly) white; leaving a yolk that is the consistency of lemon curd that can be spread on a slice of toast to make the perfect bacon and egg yolk sandwich.  I usually make this with strips of my home-cured bacon, but I was very pleased with the bacon jam version.

 

I don’t have the vocabulary to describe how wonderful this was with fresh ground pepper, Maldon sea salt and Lurpak butter on white toast.

Oooh-Mommy :) Bacon Jam thanks to Foodie with Family

Through many convoluted steps, I found this recipe for Bacon Jam on Foodie with Family’s site (via Ruhlman.com, The Perfect Pantry.com…)

The recipe started with 3 pounds of bacon; as my husband says “any recipe that starts with a pound of bacon must be good”, I thought this must be extra special.


First you cut the bacon into bits and crisp it.


One could almost stop right here and be happy.


Then caramelize a bunch of onions in the bacon fat.


Add garlic cloves, smashed and peeled; cider vinegar; packed brown sugar (light or dark; I prefer light); pure maple syrup; and brewed strong coffee.


Reduce to a spreadable mixture with an immersion blender and store in a sterilized quart Mason jar.
Umami (Oooh-Mommy) Jam!

Cozy Winter Lunch | Potato – Leek soup and Croques-Monsieur

I found this potato – leek soup on David Lebovitz’s blog. It was wonderful with the sandwich. This may be one of my favorite lunches.

 

Butter, leeks, home-made chicken stock (the recipe calls for water, but I figured a couple of cups of stock substituted for some of the water wouldn’t hurt), bay leaves and thyme, russet potatoes (had some sitting around), white pepper and chili powder.

 

Sweating the leeks in the butter.

 

Simmering until the potatoes are tender.

 

Buzzed with an immersion blender.

 

Gruyere (got it sliced into “sandwich slices” at the charcuterie counter), sourdough bread, honey-baked ham I had vacuum-sealed and frozen from Christmas.

 

Two layers of cheese and ham.

 

Microplaned a bit of cheese on top of the skim of butter.

 

Baked, then broiled a bit to brown the cheese. It’s wonderful that something so simple can be so good.

Easy Hamburger Buns | Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day

Since my husband was making some lovely pulled pork to make barbequed pork sandwiches, I was happy that I had some Buttermilk White Bread mix from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day already mixed in the refrigerator.

 

This is the mix in the bucket.

 

I had a hamburger pan from earlier experiments. Sometimes it is good to hang on to baking pans you never thought you’d use again.

 

I love the “shooting through glass” option on my camera.

 

The pulled pork with barbeque sauce, homemade mayonnaise, homemade buns, beans from our garden, and fried potatoes.

BLT Challenge | The Bacon

This is my fourth batch of bacon. I’m indebted to Kevin Weeks of Seriously Good for posting about Charcuterie: The Craft of Salting, Smoking and Curing by Michael Ruhlman and Brian Polcyn a couple of years ago.  I’ve greatly enjoyed making my own sausages, pate, peperone, and bacon.

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Brown sugar, kosher salt, and pink salt.

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My husband and I prefer the more savory pancetta seasonings for our bacon rather than sweeter maple type. There are juniper berries, black peppercorns and bay leaves in the processor. I ground the pepper in a mill last year, and even though it was a Magnum, it took forever. I figure as long as the peppercorns are cracked it’ll be ok.

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As I’m curing 36 lbs. of pork belly this time, it takes 30 cloves of garlic.

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All buzzed up and ready to go.

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Lovely Niman Ranch pork bellies.

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My husband experimented with lots of thyme from the garden for one belly.

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I lurve the full width meat/produce drawer in the bottom of my Viking fridge. I fit four pork bellies in there!

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After ten days curing it’s a beautiful color. Washing off the spices is the worst part of the whole process. I felt I was wallowing in raw pig juice. I washed down the kitchen with Lysol in a 10’ radius around the sink after I was finished and then took a shower.

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Drying in the fridge overnight with a garbage bag drip-guard. I’ve learned that if I want to feel flush enough to give away some of this awesome bacon, I need to make a lot of it.

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Hot smoking with hickory chunks in the Weber Smoky Mountain Smoker Cooker (or the “Bullet”).

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My husband fried some of the smoked pig skin for a snack.

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My husband slices while I vacuum seal.

It keeps very well in the freezer.