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January 23, 2006
A Bacon confession, which leads to a mayo recipe
(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!
Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at January 23, 2006 9:15 AM
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