Recipe Box: Chocolate-Covered Bacon

There are few flavor combinations better than salty plus sweet. If you add smoky, however, a new taste experience is born. I'm sure you've heard that chocolate goes with everything. Likewise, bacon makes everything better... and so, we have chocolate-covered bacon. It really is as simple as: 1. Bake bacon until crispy. 2. Melt Chocolate. 3. Dip one into the other.

Start with REAL thick-cut bacon, as fresh as you can find. It will come pre-packaged where the breakfast meats are. If you don't see it, ask your grocer's butcher. Get 8 slices for each 12 ounces of chocolate chips you will use.



Bake the bacon at 375 degrees Fahrenheit on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper for about 25 -30 minutes to get it crispy. Keep an eye on it so it doesn't burn! Place the bacon on paper towels to drain the grease. You can reserve the bacon grease for later cooking if you wish. It can be used in many dishes, but I won't get into that here.

As the bacon cools, melt the chocolate. Use a double boiler, or make a double boiler if you don't own one.

To make your own double boiler, boil water in a medium pot and lower to a simmer (just small bubbles reaching the surface). Place a slightly smaller bowl in the water and hold it with a potholder so the chocolate melts in it without burning from direct heat. If you tried to melt the chocolate in a pan directly on the stove top, it would almost certainly burn. The chocolate has to remain in constant motion to avoid scorching, so keep stirring.




In Spanish, this is called a Bano de Maria, which literally translates to Maria's Bath.




Once the chocolate is ready, resist the urge to dip the bacon into it. Your crispy bacon will break into pieces under the weight of the chocolate. I ended up "painting" the chocolate onto the bacon with my spatula. In hindsight, it would be a much better idea to drizzle the chocolate over the bacon with a spoon. You won't get complete coverage that way, but you don't need to.

Lay your chocolatey bacon on new parchment and move them into the fridge to cool and harden.





They look like smiley faces of bacony joy. Now, tasting the final product is a mixed experience. At first, eating chocolate covered bacon is like thinking "hmm, why is there hot sauce in my ice cream?" The second bite, however, is pure bliss. It gets quite addictive after that.

Happy Cooking!