Bacon Bourbon Butter Food

BBB BACON-IN-THE-BATTER BUTTERMILK WAFFLE, BOURBON ICE CREAM, BACON TOFFEE

Steps:

• For the bacon toffee: In a heavy-bottomed pot, combine the butter, water and granulated sugar. Stir to combine and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Place a candy thermometer on the edge of the pot and continue to boil for about 8 to 10 minutes; the syrup will begin to color and is ready when it reaches 305 to 310 degrees F. Stir in the bacon. Very carefully, pour the toffee onto a half sheet pan lined with a silicone baking mat. Cool. Break the toffee into pieces.
• For the bourbon ice cream: In a heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat, combine the cream, milk and granulated sugar. Add the vanilla bean seeds and pod to the cream mixture. Bring the mixture to a simmer. Remove from the heat. Whisk the egg yolks together in a large bowl. Slowly whisk in the cream mixture. Discard the vanilla pod. Add the bourbon. Cool the mixture. When cool, freeze in an ice-cream maker according to manufacturer's directions.
• For the waffles: Preheat a waffle iron. Sift the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, granulated sugar and salt together. Beat the egg yolks in a medium bowl until they are pale yellow. Beat in the buttermilk and melted butter. Combine the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients. In a clean bowl with clean beaters, beat the egg whites until they hold soft peaks. Fold the whites into the batter.
• Working in batches, spray the waffle iron with nonstick spray, ladle in batter and lay par-cooked bacon pieces in the batter before closing the lid of the iron.
• To serve, top each waffle with a big scoop of bourbon ice cream. Stab with a piece of bacon toffee and garnish with powdered sugar and maple syrup.

HONEY-BOURBON GLAZED BACON

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Combine the honey and bourbon in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Remove from heat and let cool slightly.
• Lay the bacon on the prepared baking sheet and roast for 10 minutes. Brush with some of the honey-bourbon syrup. Continue roasting until deeply caramelized and crispy, another 10 to 15 minutes--the bacon will really crisp as it cools. Sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon pepper and serve.

BACON-BOURBON BUTTER

Steps:

• Cook bacon in small skillet over med heat, stirring occasionally, until fat is rendered and bacon is crisp, about 6 minutes.
• Transfer bacon to aper towels to drain grease, reserve 1tsp of the bacon drippings from pan.
• Put reserved bacon and drippings in small bowl, along with butter, bourbon, maple wyrup, and sugar.
• Season with salt.
• Using a fork, vigorously whisk until well combined.
• Transfer butter mixture to a sheet of parchment paper, wax paper, or plastic wrap, placing on edge closest to you.
• Fold paper over and roll into a cylinder, twisting the ends; wrap airtight in foil.
• Chill until solid. Butter will keep refrigerated for up to 2 weeks or frozen up to 3 months.

BACON, BOURBON AND HAZELNUT CINNAMON BUNS

Steps:

• For the dough: Place the warm milk in a small bowl. Sprinkle the yeast over the milk and set aside for 5 minutes. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the oil and vanilla. Beat in the yolks one at a time, beating well between additions. Beat on high speed for 2 to 3 minutes, then lower the speed and mix in the flour and salt. Mix in the milk and yeast mixture. Change to a dough hook attachment and mix until a soft dough forms. Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface and gently knead it by hand for 2 to 3 minutes. The dough should be soft and smooth. Place the dough in a buttered or oiled bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside until doubled in size-this may take 2 to 2 1/2 hours at room temperature. (I proof this dough in my garage. My kitchen is too cool and I become impatient. Sometimes I proof it overnight in the refrigerator, allowing it to come to room temperature before filling the buns the next day.) For the filling: Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place the hazelnuts on a rimmed baking sheet and bake, stirring often, until golden brown and fragrant, about 20 minutes. Let cool completely. Place in a food processor and pulse until they are very finely ground; don't over-grind them or you'll end up with an oily paste. I like to add 1 tablespoon confectioners' sugar while pulsing. Set aside. Cut the bacon into 1/4-inch pieces. Cook in a heavy skillet over medium heat until very crispy but not burnt. Drain off the fat (reserve it for another use). Finely chop the bacon in a food processor. Alternatively, you can place the raw cut bacon pieces in a food processor and pulse until the bacon looks like chopped ham salad; place the bacon in a large saute pan over medium heat and cook, stirring constantly, until crispy. (Be careful as bacon bits tend to spatter more than bigger pieces-I always use a splatter guard over the skillet.) Let the bacon bits cool on paper towels. Combine the cooled bacon and ground hazelnuts in a bowl and set aside. Cut the butter into equal-sized pieces. Put the butter in a light-colored saucepan (it's important to see the bottom of the pan to gauge the color of the butter as it cooks) and place it over medium heat. Melt the butter, stirring constantly. The butter will start to bubble and foam up; keep stirring. As the foam subsides, the color of the butter will begin to darken. As soon as it looks like it's browning, quickly pour the butter into a heatproof cup or bowl to prevent additional browning. To make the schmear, in a heatproof bowl, combine the brown sugar and cinnamon. In a small saucepan, heat 1/4 cup of the heavy cream with the brown butter. Bring this to a boil and immediately pour it over the sugar-and-cinnamon mixture and stir to dissolve the sugar. Let cool completely and set aside. In a small bowl, make a glaze by combing the remaining 1/4 cup heavy cream, confectioners' sugar, vanilla, bourbon and salt. Whisk until smooth and set aside. Once the dough has doubled in size, grease two 6-cup extra-large muffin or cupcake tins. Dump the dough onto a floured work surface. Roll it out to an 18x20-inch rectangle that's 1 inch thick. Spread the brown butter schmear over the dough, leaving a 1-inch border around the edges to help seal the buns. Brush the beaten egg over the border. Set aside about 3/4 cup of the bacon-hazelnut mixture for the top of the buns. Sprinkle the rest over the schmear and pat down so it sticks. Begin rolling the dough up from the edge closest to you, keeping the roll tight. When you reach the egg wash part, pinch the dough together to seal the roll.
• Cut the log into 12 pieces, each about 1 3/4 inches wide. Reshape each bun so it's round (cutting tends to flatten one side). Gently place the buns into the greased muffin tins. Lightly brush the tops with beaten egg and sprinkle with the remaining bacon-hazelnut mixture (about 1 tablespoon per bun). Cover the buns with plastic wrap and set aside to proof again until doubled in size, about 1 hour. Heat the oven to 375 degrees F. I place the muffin tins on baking sheets to prevent any filling from dripping onto the oven floor. Bake the buns for 12 minutes. Rotate the pans and bake until the buns are golden brown and cooked through (a digital thermometer inserted into the center of a bun will read 185 degrees F when they are fully baked), about 12 minutes longer. Remove the pans from the oven and let cool for about 10 minutes before removing the buns and letting them cool on a wire rack. Drizzle the glaze generously over the buns. Enjoy the buns the same day you bake them, or make bread pudding with them. I have a recipe for Cinni Mini Bun Bread Pudding in my book "Baking Out Loud."

BACON BOURBON BURGERS

Steps:

• Preheat an outdoor grill for high heat and lightly oil the grate.
• Mix ground beef, bourbon, Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar, steak seasoning, and garlic salt in a bowl; divide and shape into 2 patties.
• Cook on the preheated grill for about 5 minutes; turn, top each burger with bacon and Cheddar cheese, and continue cooking until the burgers are cooked to your desired degree of doneness, about 5 minutes more for well done. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read 160 degrees F (70 degrees C). Serve on split buns topped with tomato and lettuce.

BACON BOURBON CARAMEL POPCORN

Steps:

• Preheat your oven to 250º.
• Melt 1 cup of butter over medium heat. Mix in brown sugar, corn syrup and sea salt and then stir until boiling at the edges. Lower the heat slightly and let boil until the caramel is 250º. Remove from heat and add the baking soda and bourbon. Once fully incorporated, stir in the bacon.
• Divide the popcorn into two very lightly greased roasting pans and coat with the caramel. Mix well and then put the popcorn into the preheated oven for about 45 minutes to an hour, mixing every 10-15 minutes so the kernels of popped corn is coated in bourbon bacon coating.
• Once done, pour onto either parchment paper or wax paper to cool and break into pieces.
• Refrigerate.