Probably the toughest part of the original Bacon Explosion was the "woven" exterior. It struck me that the dish would be more attractive if the bacon slices were more regular and rectilinear; it would also make it easier to weave. I also mused that the whole thing would have more structural integrity if the outside of the Explosion were a single piece. It was then that I thought about using back bacon or so-called "Canadian" bacon.
So I bought a single piece, along with a few chorizo sausages for the filling. First I thought about using the denser, less-marbled back bacon to create regular and consistent slices for the outside of the dish, but then decided to just use the shape of the piece itself. So after rinsing off most of the cornmeal coating (I know it's usually called peameal bacon in Ontario, but they've actually been using cornmeal for years) I "filleted" the pork back with a sharp knife.
It got a dusting of cajun spice rub, as well as some chili powder.I re-seasoned the chorizo much like the Italian sausage I used the first time, using dried basil, ground roasted garlic and cajun spice. I also put in a slurp of chipotle barbecue sauce as well as a bit of maple syrup (!), to cut the heat a bit and add another flavour note. In the meantime, I cooked up about a quarter of the bacon I cut out of the pork back:
Once it was fully cooked, I cut it into small pieces and added it to the sausage meat, then formed it into a chub and wrapped it in the outer layer.
Once formed, it got a coat of Blue Smoke barbecue sauce and another hit of spice rub before going into the oven. I cut a few slits into the outer layer to help drain off the fat during cooking.The final result was, once again, tasty! This version is a bit leaner because of the lower fat content of the back bacon vs. streaky bacon. I probably should have used a bit of kitchen twine to truss this up - it would have made the final product a little prettier - but overall I'm very happy with the way it turned out.
Maybe I should start coming up with a few dishes that don't involve nearly-pure cholesterol...
4 comments:
"Gentlemen, we can rebuild it. We have the technology. We have the capability to build the world's first atomic bacon explosion. Back bacon will be that meat. Better than it was before. Better, spicier, tastier."
Tonight's episode brought to you by the good folks at Pfizer.
Ask your doctor if Lipitor is right for you.
Someone's getting a portable defibrillator for Christmas!
"Maybe I should start coming up with a few dishes that don't involve nearly-pure cholesterol..."
There are two schools of thought on this, both of which I just made up:
One is that you should keep striving for purity; some greater power has obviously chosen you and set you on the path. Follow it where it leads you.
The other is that you could think of yourself as a kind of loyal opposition to whatever the health fads of the day are. They say that a democratic government is most effective when it has an opposition to bump up against; perhaps you'd be doing the world of nutrition a favour by presenting unhealthy alternatives.
The third (yes, one more... ) is that unhealthy eating has far more entertainment value. Get into the field (if you can call it that) of "nutritainment".
Oh -- here's a fourth idea: get a video camera, learn to do stop-motion animation and scale model making, and make your own bacon-based kaiju flicks.
Post a Comment