BACON IN THE NEWS this week includes lots of headlines about the new minor league baseball team - this from the TIME News Feed; very cool. Thank you to the seven of you (strike that - eight now - thanks, Flip!) who emailed or texted me about this!
"Lehigh Valley IronPigs, a minor league baseball team that recently went viral for promoting urinals with video game systems, has debuted bacon-themed uniforms. The Saturday home game look features bacon strips down the side of the pants, a baseball cap with a strip of bacon across the front, and a brick red jersey with the word “Pigs” underlined by — you guessed it — yet another a strip of bacon.
Fans can also purchase a “scratch and sniff” t-shirt with a strip of bacon on it, and the smell lasts for up to 10-15 washes, according to the team’s MiLB store website. Fans who do not want to shell out $22 could probably produce the same effect by smearing bacon strips on the front of team gear that they already own."Only in Pennsylvania, home of lots of bacon and smoked meat producers. Read more here. Love that 'scratch and sniff' t-shirt idea. But I don't love it enough to buy it for myself. However, I'm more than willing to accept it as a gift from my porcine readership....
I'M ALWAYS ON THE LOOKOUT for great recipes, the amateur foodie that I am. Here's one for a bacon infused bourbon cocktail! This one is on my list to try ASAP. My sister-in-law Ann and I are big fans of Woodford's - and that's my targeted bourbon for this one. Check out the link, but I've listed the recipe below for those of you who don't do links:
Bacon-Infused Bourbon
2 oz. bacon fat
1½ cups bourbon
1. To clarify the bacon fat, melt fat and strain into a bowl. Add 4 oz. boiling water. Stir well and leave until melted fat has set into a cake above the water. Remove cake, scraping off any sediment from the bottom, then melt again.
2. Combine bourbon and bacon fat in a quart-size jar. Seal with a tightly fitting lid and shake vigorously. Leave the bourbon to infuse at room temperature for 5-8 hours.
3. Put the jar in the freezer and freeze until all of the bacon fat has solidified at the surface of the bourbon, about 1 hour. Scoop off and discard the bacon fat and strain the bourbon through a fine mesh sieve lined with 2 coffee filters. Extra bacon-infused bourbon can be stored at room temperature for up to 2 weeks, or in the refrigerator for up to 6 months.
My favorite line in the recipe is as follows -
Note: This technique can be used to add a bacon scent to many different liquids or liquors.
ON TO THE BACON! This week, I simply cooked up another batch of bacon using the now famous Bacon Wave. "After further review," I can't recommend it unless you're really in a hurry. I don't understand how so many news organizations mention both the Wave and the newer Bacon Bowl as something of a miracle. I'm not even going to link to them this week. Here's the uncooked photo. You're supposed to bend the slices so that they don't stick out over the edge of the unit (hence the double-meaning of "Wave" in the name of the product):
I followed the Wave instructions again to the letter, but in addition let the bacon come to room temperature (a best practice) first. You can see the before and after pictures. The bacon crisped up in the protein areas, but the transition area was undercooked, as was the fat. So I put it in for another minute, with similar results. I'll give the Wave one more shot, but I'm not expecting great results. Here's the after cooking photo. The unit does do a pretty good job capturing the fat and not making the house smell:
And here is one sad slice of bacon, which admittedly has been in the fridge for a few days (for daily use). And I did use a 'thick cut' of bacon, so next time I'll use the regular variety:
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