(Photo: TPCs Bacon Sandwich on Whole Wheat)
I can't believe I did this. If you think it's time for an intervention, fine, I probably need one.
So... Saturday morning comes, and the cupboard's pretty bare. I've got some good whole wheat bread and there's thick-cut bacon in the freezer, so a bacon sandwich it is. I'm envisioning a Dagwood-sized portion, but there's not much bacon left.
The challenge: Getting monster bacon flavor out of not a lot of bacon. The method: I slowly rendered the bacon in a skillet, getting it really crispy, and leaving a lot of bacon grease behind. I toasted my bread, and instead of butter or mayo, I dipped each slice, briefly, into the grease in the skillet, then assembled the sandwich, adding a bit of ketchup. Okay, mock me and my childhood love of ketchup, but I dig it on bacon sandwiches. Shun me, see if I care. Wait, come back!
It worked well, too. Max bacon flavor without soggy bread. Whew. Glad I got that off of my chest.
This gave me the idea for a really good mayo just for BLTs. I've put it in recipe form below the fold. I haven't tried to make it yet, though I've made lots of mayo over the years with this basic technique. Let me know if you try this!
Take another look at my slightly out of focus picture. See the bacon grease permeating the bread about halfway? Pure love, man. Pure love.
The Pragmatic Chef's Bacon-flavored mayo for BLTs
Makes at least 1 1/2 C
Making mayonnaise is easy. If it takes longer than 5 minutes to whisk together, you're doing something wrong. Because the egg yolk is raw, take the appropriate precautions.
Ingredients:
1/4 C warm bacon grease
3/4 C light oil (canola, light olive oil)
1 egg yolk (use a fresh, high quality organic or free range yolk)
2 tsp. dry mustard (Colman's is great)
fresh lemon juice, TT (1/2 to 1 whole lemon)
1T finely chopped chives
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, TT
Procedure:
Mix bacon grease and oil in a measuring cup, combining thoroughly.
In a small work bowl, whisk the egg yolk with a tsp of lemon juice until it lightens a bit in color. Add most of the dry mustard and whisk again to combine. The mustard will help the mayo emulsify and stay stable.
Begin to drizzle the oil/grease combination slowly at first into the egg mixture, whisking constantly. As it's incorporated, add the fat more quickly, whisking constantly until the mixture is quite thick.
Add the chives, combine. Stop. Taste. Season with more lemon juice, S & P, and dry mustard as your taste buds dictate. Stop when it's right, lay some plastic wrap lightly on top of the mayo, and refrigerate promptly. It'll keep for a few days, but don't let it become a science experiment. When in doubt, throw it out!
You need help. I think there's a special wing in the Betty Ford clinic for people like you.
Just hand over the rest of the bacon grease. Now. Don't lick it out of the skillet.
Mmmmm.... maybe I threw it away? Okay, I get the point...
Of course I won't really know for sure until Meg weighs in. If Meg, queen of bacon, thinks it's over the top, I'm headed for Palm Springs.
Dang dude, that's hard core. Congrats!
I think I would have foregone the bread and just ate the bacon along with a dark beer. Hay, why did you let yer bacon level run so low?
Bad dog!
Biggles
I can't help it, Biggles, it just tasted good. I still had 4 slices of bacon, but it wasn't enough. It was the billion breakfast burritos we made before the Steelers game last week that done my bacon inventory in...
Er, speaking of that....
GO STEELERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (Apologies to all my friends and family members in the fine Seattle area.)
I'd ditch the ketchup, use lots more bacon and add some pepper jack cheese, and a dash of survival spice
evilwife likes her bacon sandwiches with mayo and peanut butter.
I have good life insurance on her.
Chris- Sorry, I loves da ketchup. I do manage to leave it off of BLTs, though.
PB- Man, that's beautiful. Do you have a home angioplasty kit?
Off to make a PBBT (Peanut butter and bacon on toast) - but THIS time.... I'm following your lead!
NUM, NUM, NUM! Maybe I'll have frantic dreams to work off what I'm about to consume at 11:30 at night (hope G doesn't notice I've been picking at her cold Tofu! LOL).
Pie Shell, will we get a review?
Normally I love looking at the pix on your sight, and usually I gain a pound or two by doing so! The pork chop on your current page is awesome, and the same can be said for the omelet.
However, I scrolled down a little farther and I think someone posted an illegal photo. I didn't hover there long enough to read the caption but I think it was some kind of bacon sandwich, but someone apparently transposed a picture of something else, possibly something found in pet owner's back yards.
I'm sure you'll take measures to make sure no one illegally accesses your site again. Keep up the good work!
Man, Dennis. That was cold. Funny, but cold...
It didn't taste greasy at all, and the toast was still crunchy. I throw myself on everyone's mercy. I can see you never forgiving me for using ketchup, though. Just a vestige of my childhood...
You're a GOD! I bow down to you...
HA!!! Meg!!! You're a woman of vision.
It's amazing (and fun) how varied the reactions have been, which is why I had to put it out there to see how crazy I really am.
Pretty crazy, as it turns out...