Bacon Nation: 125 Irresistible Recipes (35 page)

2 tablespoons packed light or dark brown sugar (see Note)

¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

For the bacon bran muffins

3 slices thick-cut bacon, cut into ¼- to ½-inch pieces

¾ cup unbleached all-purpose flour

¼ cup whole-wheat flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon salt

1 cup Kellogg’s All-Bran cereal

2 large eggs

⅓ cup packed light or dark brown sugar

1 tablespoon molasses

3 tablespoons canola oil

1 cup plain whole-milk yogurt

1¼ teaspoons pure vanilla extract

½ cup golden raisins

1
Prepare the bacon crumble topping: Cook the 2 slices of bacon in a medium-size skillet over medium heat until lightly browned and most of the fat is rendered, 5 to 8 minutes, stirring often and adjusting the heat as necessary. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate to drain, reserving 1 tablespoon of bacon fat in the skillet. If necessary, add enough butter to the skillet to measure 1 tablespoon.

2
Combine the 6 tablespoons of flour, the granulated sugar, 2 tablespoons of brown sugar, and ¼ teaspoon of cinnamon in a small bowl. Add 2 tablespoons of butter to the skillet with the bacon fat and heat over medium heat until the butter melts, about 30 seconds. Drizzle the butter and bacon fat mixture over the sugar and flour mixture in the bowl, taking care to include any browned bacon bits from the bottom of the skillet. Add the drained bacon and toss with a fork until evenly moistened. Set the bacon crumble topping aside.

3
Prepare the bacon bran muffins: Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 400°F.

4
Cook the 3 slices of bacon pieces in a medium-size skillet over medium heat until lightly browned and most of the fat is rendered, 5 to 8 minutes, stirring often and adjusting the heat as necessary. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate to drain, reserving the bacon fat in the skillet. Using a pastry brush, grease 9 muffin tin cups (a nonstick muffin tin works best) with the bacon fat from the skillet.

5
Combine the ¾ cup of all-purpose flour and the whole-wheat flour, baking soda, ½ teaspoon of cinnamon, and the salt in a medium-size mixing bowl.

6
Add ½ cup of the bran cereal to the bowl of a mini food processor and pulse until finely ground. Set the ground bran cereal aside. Place the eggs in a second medium-size mixing bowl and whisk until lightly colored, then whisk in the ⅓ cup of brown sugar and the molasses. Add the oil, yogurt, and vanilla and whisk well to combine. Stir in the remaining ½ cup of bran cereal and the ground bran cereal, raisins, and drained bacon and let the bran mixture sit for about 5 minutes.

7
Add the flour mixture to the bran mixture and mix with a rubber spatula until the batter is combined and evenly moistened. The batter will be a little stiff; do not overmix it. Using a ⅓ cup measure, divide the batter evenly among the 9 greased muffin cups. Top each muffin with about 2 tablespoons of the bacon crumble topping.

8
Bake the muffins until a cake tester or toothpick inserted into the center of one comes out clean, 16 to 18 minutes. Let the muffins cool in the muffin tin for about 5 minutes, then transfer the muffins to a wire rack and let cool for about 5 minutes longer before serving. The bran muffins can be stored in an airtight container for 3 to 4 days.

Makes 8 biscuits

About twenty years ago, when the famed Union Square Greenmarket was just getting started, a new restaurant opened with the unspecial name of Coffee Shop. The waitstaff all looked like supermodels. The food was mostly Brazilian fare. One of the most popular breakfasts was fresh-squeezed orange juice, espresso with steamed milk, and cheese biscuits. Throw in some high-decibel samba music for a sound track and it was a great way to kick-start the day. We hadn’t thought of adding bacon to everything back then, but when putting together the recipes for this book, we were talking about Coffee Shop and figured, “Why not?” Serve the biscuits with a green salad and call it lunch or dinner.

4 slices thick-cut bacon, cut into ¼-inch pieces

2½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus flour for dusting your hands

2¼ teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

¾ teaspoon salt

8 tablespoons (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch-thick pieces, plus about ⅓ cup melted unsalted butter, for brushing the biscuits

1 cup packed coarsely grated sharp cheddar cheese

2 teaspoons chopped fresh tarragon

Freshly ground black pepper

1 cup well-shaken buttermilk, chilled

1
Line a large heavy baking sheet with parchment paper.

2
Cook the bacon in a medium-size skillet over medium heat until browned and the fat is rendered, 6 to 9 minutes, stirring often and adjusting the heat as necessary. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate to drain, reserving 1 tablespoon of the bacon fat in the skillet.

3
Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Add the chilled butter and, using a pastry blender or 2 knives, cut the butter into the flour until the mixture is the size of peas. (Or, combine ingredients in food processor bowl and process until the mixture is coarsely blended to about the size of peas. If you use a food processor, after processing the flour and butter mixture transfer it to a large bowl.)

4
Add the cheddar cheese, tarragon, drained bacon, and the 1 tablespoon of bacon fat reserved in the skillet to the flour and butter mixture and stir to mix well. Season with 2 to 3 generous grinds of pepper or to taste. Gradually add the buttermilk, stirring to moisten the ingredients evenly (the batter will be a little sticky).

5
Scoop out a generous ½ cup of batter for each biscuit and, using lightly floured hands, drop them onto the prepared baking sheet, spacing the mounds about 2 inches apart (you will have 8 large biscuits). Place the biscuits on the baking sheet in the freezer for about 30 minutes (see Note).

6
Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 425˚F.

7
Bake the chilled biscuits until they are golden and a cake tester or toothpick inserted in the center of one comes out clean, 18 to 22 minutes. Remove the biscuits from the oven, brush them lightly with the melted butter, and let them cool on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes. Serve the biscuits warm or at room temperature; the biscuits are best eaten when freshly baked.

Makes sixteen 2-inch squares

This is a very simple tweak to a standard shortbread recipe, and the result is a powerful flavor transformation. If you ever want to demonstrate the magic of ingredients to your friends, try this shortbread side by side with a traditional shortbread (that is to say, follow the recipe but leave out the bacon and rosemary).

4 to 5 slices applewood- or hickory-smoked bacon, cut into ½-inch pieces (see Note)

1½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour

½ cup stone-ground yellow cornmeal

⅓ cup granulated sugar

⅓ cup packed dark brown sugar

1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary leaves

Scant ½ teaspoon coarse salt

1 cup (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into ¼-inch-thick pieces

2 teaspoons dark or full-flavored honey

1
Cook the bacon in a medium skillet over medium heat until lightly browned and most of the fat is rendered, 5 to 8 minutes, stirring often and adjusting the heat as necessary. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate to drain, reserving 1 tablespoon of the bacon fat in the bowl of a food processor.

2
Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 325˚F.

3
Add the drained bacon and the flour, cornmeal, granulated sugar, brown sugar, rosemary, and salt to the food processor and pulse to combine, 6 to 8 seconds. Add the butter and honey and pulse to make a mixture of crumbs, 8 to 10 seconds. Then pulse again until some of the crumbs start to come together, about 5 seconds longer. Don’t overprocess the dough; it should be somewhat crumbly, not smooth.

4
Press the dough into an ungreased 8-inch-square baking pan. Pierce it all over with the tines of a fork and bake until golden brown, 45 to 50 minutes. Transfer the baking pan to a wire rack to cool for about 15 minutes, then cut the shortbread into sixteen 2-inch squares. Serve the shortbread warm or at room temperature. The shortbread is best served the day it’s made but it will keep in an airtight container for up to 5 days or can be frozen in an airtight container for a couple months.

Makes three 9- to 10-inch-round flatbreads

Rosemary is one of the most meat-friendly herbs. When the oil within each little leaf comes into contact with heat—say, from hot meat—it is released into the air, or in this case into the flatbread dough, with an appetizing perfume that says, “Good food here.” While rosemary works admirably with steaks, veal chops, and leg of lamb, you’ll find when it joins with the intense flavor of bacon the alchemy rises to a new level. Serve the flatbread as an appetizer with a vegetable dip or a platter of assorted cheeses.

4 slices bacon cut into ¼- to ½-inch pieces

1¾ cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus flour for rolling out the flatbread

1 teaspoon baking powder

¾ teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary leaves

⅓ cup olive oil, plus olive oil for brushing on the dough

1
Place a heavy baking sheet on an oven rack positioned in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 450˚F.

2
Cook the bacon in a medium-size skillet over medium heat until lightly browned and most of the fat is rendered, 5 to 8 minutes, stirring often and adjusting the heat as necessary. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate to drain.

3
Place the flour, baking powder, salt, rosemary, and drained bacon in large mixing bowl and stir to mix. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture, add the olive oil and ½ cup of water, and stir with a wooden spoon until a dough forms. Knead the dough gently 4 to 5 times in the bowl or on a work surface.

4
Divide the dough into 3 pieces, shaping each piece into a ball. Place 1 piece of dough on a piece of parchment paper about 12 inches square. Using a lightly floured rolling pin, roll out the dough into a 9- to 10-inch round about ¼ inch thick (it doesn’t need to be a perfect round). Keep the remaining pieces of dough covered with plastic wrap as you work to prevent them from drying out.