User:Wwoods/Bacon Bourbon

Goal
Combine the deliciousness of bacon and the deliciousness of bourbon. Yes, this has been done successfully before

Reason
I've decided to become a vegetarian (again), so making a bunch of BLTs and Baconated Bourbon seemed like a good way to celebrate my last day eating meat.

Method

 * 1) Cook .5lb bacon (the smokiest you can find)
 * 2) Add drippings to 750mL bourbon
 * 3) Let it sit (1-7 days)
 * 4) Filter by freezing to solidify fats and then filtering cold bourbon
 * 5) Enjoy

Makin' Bacon
The oven baking method was chosen due to a) splatteriness of pan-frying and b) additional metals &c added by pan-frying. Microwave just seems wrong.

Oven method 1

 * Wire racks on tinfoil-covered cookie sheet
 * 10 strips bacon
 * 350&deg;F, not preheated
 * Results:
 * 20min: ends crispy and curled, middles less crispy (fat pooling)
 * 25min: ends crispier, still chewy

Oven method 2
Temp/time recommended by the packaging:
 * Same as before, but 375&deg;F, preheated
 * Results:
 * 12min: chewy bacon, edges not crispy
 * 20min: more brown, edges crispy

Oven method 3

 * Same wire rack/foil-covered cookie sheet setup
 * Cut bacon package in half to yield shorter pieces
 * 400&deg;F, not preheated
 * Results:
 * 17min: still chewy-looking but less curled than before
 * 20min: telltale "foamy" bubbles indicate crispiness may be achieved! Huzzah!
 * Still not as crispy as I'd like but this may be due to our oven running slightly cool
 * Note: slightly smoky (open a window if your smoke alarms are very sensitive)

Oven method 4
The Emeril method.
 * Bacon on foil on cookie sheet
 * 350&deg;F, preheated
 * Half-length bacon slices (as with method #3)
 * Results:
 * ~25 min: SUPER-CRISPY. Crunch-o-rama. Delicious if that's how you like it.

Gathering drippings
Typical yield: 1fl. oz. for 1/2lb bacon. Pour into a measuring cup or something.

Combining with bourbon
Recommend combining ~30mL drippings with 750mL bourbon in a second container; after it steeps we can filter it back into the bourbon bottle and not have to worry as much about getting all the fat out.

Steeping
Target time: 3 days. WORK IN PROGRESS

Possible Variations

 * Add an entire slice of bacon to the bourbon while steeping?
 * Pro: more bacon flavor!
 * Con: hard to get out of the container, may add other unwanted flavor