Oh yea, salty, sweet, smoky bacon and nuts, what's not to love!
Of course my Sous Chef Earl was a little leery about the choice of ingredients in this recipe...
he said he'd help, but didn't want anyone to know he was cooking bacon...
Very smooth, I'm sure you fooled everyone...
My friend sent me the Food Network Magazine that had a bunch of bacon recipes in it-thanks Carol! While I didn't have luck using their recipe, I'll still call that my inspiration. I found a lady making brittle on U-Tube HERE and used her method with great results! I seem to have better luck with the 'in the skillet-looking for a certain color'-method than the thermometer method for some reason. So here's what I did and I'll list Food Network's recipe in case anyone wants to try it.
Bacon Nut Brittle
1 C sugar
1/2 C Light Karo Syrup
1/4 C water
1 C nuts, toasted if raw (it's ok to add 1/2 C more)-I had cashews so that's what I used
5 pieces of bacon, cooked and crumbled (maybe a little more:@)
pinch of cayenne (optional)
pinch of cinnamon (optional-I'll leave this out next time)
1 tsp baking soda
- Have the nuts, bacon, spices and baking soda in one bowl ready to add in.
- Add sugar, Karo and water to a large skillet. Bring to a boil while stirring. Cook over medium/high heat until it's honey colored, about 15 minutes, stirring constantly. You will notice that the bubbles will get big and the longer it cooks they get smaller.
- Tip: I'll drop just a little splatter of it on my stove, it cools and hardens quickly letting me know if it's ready or not.
- Once it's a beautiful amber honey color and thick, remove from heat and immediately add the bacon, nuts, spices and baking soda.
- Mix well and fast, pour out onto silicone mat or a well buttered cookie sheet, flatten a little to make it thinner.
- Cool, break apart and enjoy!
Boil 2 cups of sugar and 1 cup of water in a saucepan, without stirring, until 340 degrees, 8-10 minutes. Stir in 1 cup peanuts, 5 slices crumbled cooked bacon, 1 Tblsp butter and a pinch each of cayenne and cinnamon. Spread on a greased baking sheet to harden.
