Summer in our house is the official season of fun. Like the the surprise silly string fight my mom started tonight. It is also the official season of ice cream. It is July and we are officialy bored with the typical options. So each week we are going to experiment by making a new ice cream flavor. We rocked the house this Sunday by kicking everything off with David Lebovitz’s Candied Bacon Ice Cream. Quick Vegans… close your ears. Who knew that a little brown sugar sprinkled all over bacon and then exposing it to high heat could create such a master piece.
Because it is wrong to waste bacon we used a recipe and it turned out to be amazing. For a great and easy resource on how to make bacon ice cream check out David Lebovitz amazing recipe. But see below if you just can’t wait… I just don’t think ice cream will ever be the same again.
Candied Bacon Ice Cream
For the candied bacon;
5 strips bacon
about 2 teaspoons light brown sugarFor the ice cream custard:
3 tablespoons (45g) salted butter
¾ cup (packed) brown sugar (140g), light or dark (you can use either)
2¾ (675ml) cup half-and-half
5 large egg yolks
2 teaspoons dark rum or whiskey
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
optional: ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon1. To candy the bacon, preheat the oven to 400F (200C).
2. Lay the strips of bacon on a baking sheet lined with a silicone mat or aluminum foil, shiny side down.
3. Sprinkle 1½-2 teaspoons of brown sugar evenly over each strip of bacon, depending on length.
4. Bake for 12-16 minutes. Midway during baking, flip the bacon strips over and drag them through the dark, syrupy liquid that’s collected on the baking sheet. Continue to bake until as dark as mahogany. Remove from oven and cool the strips on a wire rack.
5. Once crisp and cool, chop into little pieces, about the size of grains of rice.
(Bacon bits can be stored in an airtight container and chilled for a day or so, or stored in the freezer a few weeks ahead.)
6. To make the ice cream custard, melt the butter in a heavy, medium-size saucepan. Stir in the brown sugar and half of the half-and-half. Pour the remaining half-and-half into a bowl set in an ice bath and set a mesh strainer over the top.
7. In a separate bowl, stir together the egg yolks, then gradually add some of the warm brown sugar mixture to them, whisking the yolks constantly as you pour. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan.
8. Cook over low to moderate heat, constantly stirring and scraping the bottom with a heatproof spatula, until the custard thickens enough to coat the spatula.
9. Strain the custard into the half-and-half, stirring over the ice bath, until cool. Add liquor, vanilla and cinnamon, if using.
10. Refrigerate the mixture. Once thoroughly chilled, freeze in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Add the bacon bits during the last moment of churning, or stir them in when you remove the ice cream from the machine.
Do yourself a favor and move the bacon to a plate after it comes out of the oven. The brown sugar gets all crazy glue like on the foil if you let it fully cool. I always ready about bacon ice cream but it is on the west cost in a spot like Portland. This recipe is really easy and will totally impress the neighbors
if you into that kinda thing.
