Honey Maple Bacon.
Tonight, as I stood hunched over, staring into the glare of my white, sparse, embarrasing bacheloresque 'fridge contents, I wondered if there was any other way I could possibly makes eggs and bacon more interesting. (I know there are millions of single guys out there this very minute, sitting on couches with hands stuck in their waistlines, chewing their fingernails and wondering the same thing. I just KNOW it.)
Then inspiration struck. I recently had honey bacon off the menu at 'Sun In My Belly' in Atlanta, and upon consumption of said bacon, I proclaimed it the tastiest meat snack since Australian meat pies. "Tonight" I thought, "I will aspire to Bacon Mastery".
I took out a few strips of Black Pepper encrusted Bacon and laid them out on a cooling rack. I then placed the cooling rack on a cookie sheet. After searching through the old bottles of sauces and marinades I've never used, I found my bottle of Sue Bee Honey and a bottle of Aunt Jamima's Butter Maple Syrup, both of which I poured generously over my delicately exposed pork strips. Gingerly, I massaged the syrupy viscous goodness into the meat. My pupils dialated and my mouth began to drown in salivic anticipation...
I placed the cooling rack / cookie sheet into the oven (400 degrees) and waited in anticipation until the hissing spittle of dripping bacon grease could be heard through the oven door. I threw open the oven, heat blasting my glazed eyes. I was ravenous and had to know if I was rewarded.
I slowly lowered a full carmel colored strip of honey maple bacon into my mouth. Ahhhhhhhh...... My work was GOOD. I have climbed the Pork Meat Mountain and reached an exalted state of bacon.
Eggs will never be the same.
PS - You might want to consider covering the cookie sheet in foil, like I didn't, because the carmelized mixture of melted honey, maple syrup and bacon fat is requires a chisel and hammer to remove.
Comments
Some bacon history my friend...\
Until well into the sixteenth century, bacon or bacoun was a Middle English term used to refer to all pork in general. The term bacon comes from various Germanic and French dialects. It derives from the French bako, Common Germanic bakkon and Old Teutonic backe, all of which refer to the back. There are breeds of pigs particularly grown for bacon, notably the Yorkshire and Tamworth. In England, a side of bacon is called a gammon, and a slice of bacon is known as a rasher. Seventy percent of the bacon in America is consumed at the breakfast table.
You're probably familiar with the phrase "bring home the bacon." In the twelfth century, a church in the English town of Dunmow promised a side of bacon to any married man who could swear before the congregation and God that he had not quarreled with his wife for a year and a day. A husband who could bring home the bacon was held in high esteem by the community for his forebearance.
What is bacon?
Bacon comes from the side of the pig. The meat is cured and usually smoked before you cook it at home. It's the fat in the bacon that provides most of the flavor and allows it to cook up crispy, yet tender. Don't turn up your nose at that fat. A hefty ratio of fat to meat is essential to good bacon, usually one-half to two-thirds fat to meat. Since bacon must be cooked before being consumed, much of the fat is rendered out and can be poured off if need be.
for more info go to: http://homecooking.about.com/library/weekly/aa082701a.htm
Posted by: El Guapo | August 2, 2005 09:47 AM
Guillermo ~ You rule. As always, your comments in regards to my posts are as entertaining as writing the post in the first place!
Posted by: Mattlandia Himself | August 2, 2005 09:53 AM