August 19, 2008

Bacon Ice Cream- You Know You Want It

This ice cream has a few factors in common with the Potato Bacon Cheddar Tart from the previous post: it has been a long time coming and it helps to soothe my bacon addiction. It was only a matter of time before I made bacon ice cream, I’ve been talking about it for ages and every time I mention it to someone and they turn their nose up at me I only want to make it more. In fact, on the day I made this ice cream I told a friend about it and his reply was “Bacon belongs with eggs.” I told him it’s a good thing that’s what ice cream is made out of… Victory is mine.

The first step in making this ice cream is candying the bacon and if that’s as far as you get, you’ll still be pretty happy. I candied an extra two strips knowing full well that I would eat them before they ever made it into the ice cream. And I did and it was awesome. This ice cream works because it doesn’t taste overpoweringly of bacon. The base is flavoured with brown sugar and a bit of rum and the candied bacon is only added in at the end for a special sweet and salty finish. The only change I would make to the recipe would be to add some fleur de sel at the same time as the candied bacon, I thought the ice cream could actually have used a little more of a salty kick. But who am I to question David Lebovitz’s ice cream prowess? Any way you scoop it, if you’re a bacon lover this ice cream is for you.

Bacon Ice Cream, (From David Lebovitz)

For the candied bacon;
5 strips bacon
about 2 tablespoons light brown sugar

For the ice cream custard:
3 tablespoons (45g) salted butter
¾ cup (packed) brown sugar (170g), light or dark (you can use either)
2¾ (675ml) cup half-and-half
5 large egg yolks
2 teaspoons dark rum or whiskey
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
optional: ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon


1. To candy the bacon, preheat the oven to 400F (200C).
2. Lay the strips of bacon on a baking sheet lined with a silicone mat or aluminum foil, shiny side down.
3. Sprinkle 1½-2 teaspoons of brown sugar evenly over each strip of bacon, depending on length.
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 dark as mahogany. Remove from oven and cool the strips on a wire rack.
5. Once crisp and cool, chop into little pieces, about the size of grains of rice.
(Bacon bits can be stored in an airtight container and chilled for a day or so, or stored in the freezer a few weeks ahead.)
6. To make the ice cream custard, melt the butter in a heavy, medium-size saucepan. Stir in the brown sugar and half of the half-and-half. Pour the remaining half-and-half 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 enough to coat the spatula.
9. Strain the custard into the half-and-half, stirring over the ice bath, until cool. Add liquor, vanilla and cinnamon, if using.
10. Refrigerate the mixture. Once thoroughly chilled, freeze in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions. Add the bacon bits during the last moment of churning, or stir them in when you remove the ice cream from the machine.


49 comments:

Anonymous said...

Porky goodness! i can imagine that this ice cream would be very good with tarte tatin.

Mary said...

I haven't jumped completely on the bacon bandwagon. I tried that bacon chocolate bar from Vosges and thought it tasted pretty gross. BUT, for some reason, bacon ice cream sounds kick butt to me. Like seriously. I bet it would be excellent on waffles. (but I think I'd leave off the chocolate sauce).

Sara said...

Yes. Yes I do want it. And a HUGE plate of candied bacon on the side. What a fabulous meal that would be.

Anonymous said...

Porky goodness indeed! I'm game to try it!

Maria said...

You actually made it! Good for you!! I don't know if I will try it but I am still impressed:)

kickpleat said...

oh wow. gimme now!

kat said...

Oh man soooooo wonderful sounding. Do you think it would be bacon overload to serve this with my dark chocolate bacon cupcakes?!

Lydia (The Perfect Pantry) said...

I'm not a bacon person, but honestly, that photo makes me want to rethink -- and the recipe looks pretty darned delicious, too.

test it comm said...

I do want bacon ice cream! I do! I still haven't had the chance to try the bacon chocolate chip cookies either.

K and S said...

mmm this looks really good!

Susan @ SGCC said...

I want to love this. I really do, but I'm just not there yet. I will admit, it does look pretty good. :)

Peabody said...

Well you know I will eat it! Bacon anything works for me.

Manggy said...

Good for you Brilynn! I've long wanted to try this but I was afraid that it would freak everyone else at home out and I'd be left eating a quart of ice cream by myself... Not good for my arteries, considering it's now been bacon-ized, so doubly so! :P

Mike of Mike's Table said...

This is one of those odd ball recipes I've been dying to try for some time, too...lol, but my wife gives me such a look every time I bring it up. One of these days!

Deborah said...

Candied bacon? Yeah, I don't think any of it would have made it into to the ice cream if it would have been me! Does this mean it would be ok to eat ice cream for breakfast? :)

Dagmar said...

I love David's ice cream recipes but I was always afraid of making this, however now I'm convinced. I think I'll make it for my husband's birthday as he's a big bacon fan :-)

LIVE MIGHTY said...

This is damn good.
I once crumbled leftover bacon munchies in a nice bowl of vanilla ice cream and GEEEZ heaven in my mouth.

I love that awesome balance of sweet and savory. Great recipe. Glad my crazy bacon/ice cream love is official. :)

Anonymous said...

Licking my computer screen right now...

eatingclubvancouver_js said...

Bacon ice cream just melts my heart! Something about it just makes me giddy!

Dee said...

I love bacon. I love ice cream. I adore David Lebovitz. But... Really? Hmmm.

Cookie baker Lynn said...

You are the reigning goddess of bacon! Tiarra and bacon scepter await you.

Anonymous said...

I keep seeing bacon recipes everywhere and think I'm dreaming. Man. In ice cream? Really? Okay. Two scoops, please.

ChichaJo said...

A local ice cream maker here made bacon ice cream and I made sure to get a pint...this is something I have been wanting to try for a long time too! There seemed to be something missing though I couldn't put my finger on it...and then I realized it was exactly what you said...those little jolts of salty flavor!

Go bacon lovers of the world!!!

Anonymous said...

ooooo.... candied bacon??!?! what will they come up with next. this is heaven!

The P & A Food Chronicles said...

very BOLD!!

Clumbsy Cookie said...

I've had bacon ice cream once and it was quite good. Well i would not eat a gallon of it, but I love ice cream and i love bacon, so what's not to love, right? Your candied bacon looks heavenly! I would eat it by itself!

Pam said...

I love salty and sweet - two of my favorite things are bacon and ice cream... of course I havn't tried them together but I may just have to now. YUM!

Maggie said...

Never in a million years would I have thought of this!
Seems that I need to think 'out of the box' more.

Michele said...

Thanks so much for stopping by my site! :-) I would so do the bacon ice cream...I love salty and sweet together.

Esi said...

Someone after my own heart. Cheers for bacon! This looks amazing.

Anonymous said...

ooohh...so mouthwatering! you know, i'd probably just eat the candied bacon right there :D

My Sweet & Saucy said...

So wish I could taste this right now...I am SOOO curious!

Alexa said...

Wow, that tops it all-- You are one creative courageous kitchen adventurer. I'm impressed. Power to you!

Katie Zeller said...

Why don't I think this is strange....
Do you like grilled peanut butter and bacon sandwiches?

RecipeGirl said...

Brave you! Sounds like something that one of the contestants on Top Chef would make in an ice cream challenge! I'd try it... but I don't know if I'd actually make it myself :)

Valentina said...

I had seen this recipe in David's book. Great to have your feedback on it.The idea of candied bacon fills me with good curiosity.

Anonymous said...

I made this recipe this weekend, for my husbands birthday. It came out delish! The candied bacon is so sweet and satisfying. I bought Maple smoked bacon for an extra bit of flavor.
The only thing though, (which has been my problem before with ice cream) is that it didnt thicken up in the ice cream machine, and when I transfered it to the freezer it hardened but doesnt have that creamy look like yours does... Still bacon-y delicious though. Thanks for the recipe!

Jersey Girl Cooks said...

Interesting! It sounds good but I am a little scared to try it.

Anonymous said...

WOW! We love bacon in everything too - my husband is not crazy about the sound of bacon ice cream but I'm intrigued. I'm defintitely going to try the bacon-potato recipe from your last post though!

vanillasugarblog said...

Oh yeah bring on the bacon. I would so make this in a heartbeat. I need to think about buying an ice cream maker.

Anonymous said...

how about french fries and ice cream?!

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Cynthia said...

Well I hope that you are proud of yourself because after reading this post, it is going to be a while before I eat bacon again because all I'd be thinking of is that it's ice cream. Not fair!

Anonymous said...

I love bacon and all, but I'm just not sure I can wrap my head around it being in ice cream. May have to taste it to believe it!
It looks delicious though.

Anonymous said...

This is so funny but we love bacon so it looks so good !!!

Anonymous said...

woah .. full marks for uniqueness... I've never heard of bacon as an ice cream favour ~ lovely photos~

Anonymous said...

Porky goodness indeed! I'm game to try it!


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putra said...

thanks for share your recipe, i love it, i want to make it now, thanks.

lita said...

wow!!!
i like this post.
thanks for that. :)

Jonah said...

The writer is totally fair, and there's no doubt.
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