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Monday, September 7, 2009

happy international bacon day!

since i couldn't play along on the actual holiday, i participated in my own special way a few days before by trying yet another new twist on my favorite food group: bacon tempura.

yes, in wan's world, bacon has its very own section in the daily required food pyramid.

a couple of girls on the nest boards and my buddy amber had all given me the heads-up on this tasty-sounding treat, experimented on by countless bloggers and served at red cat restaurant in NYC as an appetizer. i was, shockingly, excited at the prospect. come on - it's bacon. deep fried. all it needs is a stick, and it's the next big thing at the county fair. i'm actually surprised that it hasn't made its way there yet.

the recipe i decided to try was from the chef at that NYC restaurant. i had most of the ingredients except for this, which i picked up happily:



i don't typically have a need for the stuff, but for a measly $.78, i didn't hesitate to pick it up - even knowing i wouldn't do a damn thing with it after the 3/4 cup i'd need for the tempura batter (as usual, i was halving the recipe). and of course, sensing my disdain for it, when i twisted the cap off to measure it out, it exploded all over me and sprayed all over me and the kitchen. bitch ass.

i busted out the rest of the bacon left over from last week's bacon caramel/cinnamon roll extravaganza and cooked it till it was about halfway done.



then, as i mentioned before, i poured the bacon grease through a paper towel and into a mug. that's about all it takes to render bacon fat, which i thought sounded a lot more complicated than it was. and it was a lot less gross too, after i peered at the contents of the mug after it had all seeped through my makeshift filter. i thought it just looked like honey.



being too lazy to bust out my hand mixer, i had a stroke of genius and pulled out my little hot chocolate frothing device. i'm serious, that's what it is - it came with my hot chocolate pot that i got ages and ages ago. i love how i find all sorts of fun new uses for things that have a different purpose (like the baby food maker-turned-blender/food processor). i whipped up my lone egg white until it was frothy and formed soft peaks.



then i added some flour.



and that club soda:



it looked like this.



i heated up my oil to 375 degrees, the "deep fry" temperature - in other words, molten ass lava - dipped bacon pieces in my batter, and dropped them into the pan.



it didn't take long before they fried to a crisp and turned a lovely golden brown.



even after dipping all of my bacon pieces, i still had a shitload of batter left. damn. i was sad to pour it down the drain, but pour i did. 'twasn't as though i could use it later.



mmm. crunchy goodness.


oh, well. you can imagine what it looked like anyway, i'm sure. it's not like i didn't already take a zillion other pictures of the process.

we ended up eating it with a salad. haha! made it somewhat healthy, right? right?

[crickets]

okay, maybe there's really no way to spin deep fried bacon as anything even remotely good for you. but let me tell you - it was GOOOOOOOOOOOD. oh, boy.

try it. you'll like it!

10 comments:

  1. I'm thinking I might actually like this! I <3 anything in tempura batter...yum yum yum.

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  2. ooh yum. tempura. bacon. mmm.

    mix the club soda with something? doesn't have to be alcoholic. just sayin.

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  3. Personally, I like club soda with whiskey. But you could also use it to make jello. It makes the jello sort of effervescent and lighter.

    As for this bacon...well, you know how I feel about all things deep-fried. Well done, Wan. Well done.

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  4. Oooooh tempura. Yum. You can make Italian soda with club soda, I think?

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  5. I can't imagine a more perfect combo. *drool*

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  6. You poured the extra batter down the drain?! You didn't just coat more things with it? Bits of hot dog? Spam bites? Cheese cubes? Vegetables?

    This was an opportunity to have a true Fryfest, dude.

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  7. yum. looked mighty tasty. ooooh, spam tempura?! nom nom.

    btw, did you see this post on pioneer woman?

    http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2009/09/bacon-onion-cheddar-biscuits/

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  8. club soda is great with some lime and juice! And how different is tempura batter from funnel cake? Cause that's what I'd use the leftover for!

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  9. Uh-oh, I have all of the ingredients at home.... Maybe if I deep fry some spinach to go with it?

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  10. YUM! I'm glad it turned out so well - I want!

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