NuM NuM

Bacon and ice cream? Disgusting right?! Wrong! Well...maybe. There was a hung jury on this one. IMO I have come to the conclusion that bacon and desserts should not go together - exclamation point! Since I'm a sweet and salty freak, I thought hands down, guaranteed, without a doubt, I would love this ice cream! Alas, I knew it wasn't a winner when I had no desire to lick the mixing arm of the ice cream maker. Woe is me. BUT, all was not lost because Lobster went nuts over this! He even deemed this his favorite ice cream of all time....strange man that Lobster is. Needless to say I was very surprised since we usually have similar tastes when it comes to food. Well, since I wasn't a fan he gets to hoard the entire batch for himself. I guess it's a blessing in disguise since I've been clogging my arteries lately with the ridiculous amount of sweets I've been consuming. Slowly my blog is turning into a dessert blog. I need to make a new food category on the NuM NuM labeled "ass friendly." Perhaps that will motivate me to cook healthier! In the interim, give this ice cream a try and see whatcha think.


Brown Butter Candied Bacon Ice Cream
Recipe from David Lebovitz
Makes about 3/4 of a liter

For the candied bacon:
5 strips bacon
about 2 tbs light brown sugar

For the ice cream custard:
3 tablespoons (45g) salted butter*
3/4 cup (packed) brown sugar (170g), light or dark
1 1/4 cup half & half
1 1/2 cup 2% milk
5 large egg yolks
2 teaspoons dark rum or whiskey (I omitted)
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon, optional (I added)

1. To candy the bacon, preheat the oven to 400F (200C).
2. Lay the strips of bacon on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil, shiny side down.
3. Sprinkle 1½-2 teaspoons of brown sugar evenly over each strip of bacon.
4. Bake for 12-16 minutes. Midway during baking, flip the bacon strips over and drag them through the dark, syrupy liquid that’s collected on the baking sheet. Continue to bake until as deep brown. Watch closely towards end of baking since these burn quickly. Remove from oven and cool the strips on a rack.
5. Once crisp and cool, chop into little pieces about the size of rice grains.

Brown Butter Ice Cream:
6. To make the ice cream custard, melt the butter in a heavy, medium-size saucepan. Stir in the brown sugar and the half-and-half. Pour the milk into a bowl set in an ice bath and set a mesh strainer over the top.
7. In a separate bowl, stir together the egg yolks, then gradually add some of the warm brown sugar mixture to them, whisking the yolks constantly as you pour. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan.
8. Cook over low to moderate heat, constantly stirring and scraping the bottom with a heatproof spatula, until the custard thickens.
9. Strain the custard into the milk, stirring over the ice bath, until cool. Add liquor, vanilla and cinnamon, if using.
10. Chill the mixture until completely cool. Once thoroughly chilled, pour into ice cream maker. Add the bacon bits during the last moment of churning, or stir them in when you remove the ice cream from the machine.

*I added a little less then 1/8 tsp of kosher salt to my unsalted butter