Shrimp Hot Brown

The Hot Brown is a traditional southern dish that originated in Louisville, Kentucky. It has migrated, in various fashions, all over the country – I once had a version in Fairbanks, Alaska, which tells you how good the basic idea of a hot, open faced sandwich really is.

I confess that a friend of mine, Kevin Atkins, put the idea of this version into my head. It was his discussion of a shrimp-on-toast dish that moved me in this direction, using the shrimp to boost up the Hot Brown, and the Hot Brown to add substance to the shrimp. I took care to use only the best ingredients for the dish, these adding a depth and richness to something that can sometimes be a little bland.

This is a perfect winter meal, and is especially good with that familiar sandwich partner – a bowl of soup !

Ingredients

• One loaf of fine textured white bread, with a cheese component
• 2 tablespoons of butter
• 1 clove of garlic, finely minced
• 8 strips applewood thick cut smoked bacon
• 1/2 pound deli sliced roast turkey
• 1/2 pound medium gulf pink shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1 stick of butter
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1/4 cup white sweet cooking sherry
• 5 ounces gruyere cheese
• 5 ounces smoked gouda cheese
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1 teaspoon white pepper
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• parsley for garnish

The great thing about making this is that all the components can pretty much be prepared separately and ahead of time, leaving only the final assembly and cooking to be done, prior to being served.

Start by making the toast. Slice your bread about 1/2 inch thick. I used an asiago cheese bread. If the crusts are too hard, cut them off. The idea is to have a nice soft bread underbelly to the dish. Melt the 2 tablespoons of butter in a small dish with the clove of minced garlic. Brush the top side of the bread with the garlic butter and toast in a 400 degree oven until the bread is only lightly toasted. Do not overdo it – you want the bread to remain mostly soft.

Cook the shrimp next. Place the stick of butter in a sauce pan, and melt it over medium heat. When melted, add the smoked paprika and the shrimp. Allow the shrimp to poach in the butter for about 5 minutes. Do not overcook the shrimp – the final assembly and cooking of the Hot Brown will finish the job of fully cooking the shrimp.

Cook the bacon slices in a hot pan, until the bacon is browned, and most of the fat is rendered out of it. Again, do not overcook it, as the final cooking of the Hot Brown will do that. Nevertheless, make sure most of the fat is cooked out of the bacon. I used a very high quality, lean applewood smoked bacon for mine, which made this easier.

Prepare the mornay sauce. This is the cheese cause that gives the Hot Brown its earthy goodness. Shred the gruyere and smoked gouda into a bowl. Coat with the two table spoons of flour, the white pepper and the nutmeg. Toss the cheese sufficiently well to throughly mix the ingredients. In a sauce pan, add the heavy cream and the white sherry, heat over medium heat, but do not let it boil. When the cream/sheery is hot, begin slowly adding the shredded cheese mixture, a little at a time, giving it time to melt before adding more. Keep doing this until you have a thick, rich and smooth cheese sauce.

Now assemble the Hot Brown. On a well buttered baking sheet, lay out your prepared toast. Dabble a small amount of the cheese sauce onto the toast. Layer some of the sliced roast turkey on top of the toast, folding the turkey to give it a little more volume. Arrange a layer of your poached shrimp on top of the turkey. Then top with a generous amount of the cheese sauce. Finally top the sandwich with the sliced bacon, and finish with more of the cheese sauce. Place the baking sheet in a 400 degree oven and bake it until the sauce begins to bubble and brown. Remove from the oven, and using a large spatula, transfer the sandwich to a warm plate for serving. Garnish with a little chopped parsley and serve piping hot, as these are, after all, Hot Browns !

Pig Week: Bacon Wrapped Fruits

Ok, maybe the focus of this dish is not necessarily the pig, but when a dish includes bacon, you have to count it !

Over the years, I have learned that you can wrap pretty much anything in bacon ( bacon wrapped tater tots , bacon scotch egg ) and end up with a great final product. OK, I have not tried ice cream yet, but anything is possible in the future !

Very simple to make and prepare in a hurry, this is a perfect starter for many a meal, and is great for cocktail parties as well.

Ingredients

• 12 ounces thin sliced smoked bacon
• 1 large red delicious apple
• 1 large ripe bartlett pear
• honey (for garnish)

Halve the apple and pear from top to bottom, then quarter it, and finally slice into eighths. Remove any seed or pulp from the center part of the sections.

Tightly wrap each section of fruit with a slice of bacon. Placed the bacon wrapped fruits on a wire baking rack, and place in a 350 degree oven for about 20 minutes, or until the bacon is golden brown. Note that when the top of the bacon is browned, you may want to flip the fruit over so the botton side browns equally well.

To serve, place on a platter or small plate, and drizzle with a little honey. For mine, I also prepared a simple smoked Gruyere dipping sauce, as follows:

Ingredients

• 6 ounces smoked gruyere cheese
• 5 ounces dry white wine
• 1 ounce cooking sherry
• 1/2 teaspoon white pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon groung nutmeg
• 1 tablespoon flour

Grate the cheese into a bowl, and add the tablespoon of flour. Toss the cheese to throughly coat it with the flour.

In a small saucepan, heat the wine and sherry until near boiling. Add the white pepper and nutmeg. Reduce heat to medium low, and begin adding the grated cheese, a litlle at a time, stirring to allow the cheese to melt and incorporate with the wine. Continue adding cheese until the desired consistency is achived – not too thick, or the sauce will re-solidify too quickly after it is placed in a bowl for serving. When the sauce is ready, pour it into a bowl and using it for dipping the bacon wrapped fruit.

The Pork Explosion

OK. If bacon makes everything taste great, then certainly adding not one, but two more types of pork to it will make it transcendentally better ! You end up with the wildy popular (at least on the internet) Bacon Explosion. In my version, I substitute pork tenderloin for the core, instead of using more bacon, and use Italian sausage instead of country sausage, to add nuance to the dish, and, frankly, reduce some of the fat. Hence, the Pork Explosion.

Ingredients

• 1 pound lean center cut bacon
• 1 pound bulk mild Italian sausage
• 1 8 oz. pork tenderloin
• salt
• black pepper
• Coarse grain brown mustard (for serving)

Perpare the tenderloin. Trim it down until it is about 7 inches long, and about 1 inch in diameter. This is very important, so that your pork explosion does not actually unravel and ‘explode’ ! Salt and pepper, to your taste, the tenderloin, and in a samll amout of butter or oil, in a hot pan, sear the tenderloin until it is browned, about 5 minutes. This will add to the flavor, and ensure that your pork is fully cooked at the end.

Next, thightly weave, in an over-under fashion, strips of the center cut bacon to form a mat. Make sure the weave is very tight, so the bacon, which will shrink during cooking, does not alow the rest of the meat to pop out during cooking.

Now spread the Italian sausage over the bacon mat, about 1/3 inch thick, covering all but about the last inch of the mat.

Center the seared tenderloin on the mat.

Carefully roll up the mat, keeping the tenderloin in the center of the roll. Use the bacon which was not covered with sausage to overlap and help seal the roll. The roll should be very tightly wrapped to prevent the roll from coming apart whnhe cooking. Wrap in plastic wrap very tightly, and refrigerate about an hour to help all the meat bind together.

Now it is time to cook. Place the roll on a baking rack and place in a 350 degree oven. Allow to cook for about 30 minutes, until the bacon is golden brown and a little crispy, as much of the fat cooks out of the dish.

Your pork explosion is now ready to serve. I can be sliced and eaten hot, but I have found that I prefer to let it cool, then refriferate it, and then slice it into 1/2 inch slices. It serves more like a terrine or country pate when done this way. Serve the slices as an appetizer, with some coarse grain brown mustard on the side.

For a Friend : Bacon Wrapped Tater Tots

“They got tater in them”?

“Yes  sir” !

“They fried”?

“Yes, Sir” !

“Well then, get going”!

These were lines from a TV show I watch, which sum up most of the essence of something good. Add bacon, which we know never hurts, and you end up with these flavorful nuggets. A friend asked me what I was cooking to go along with my steak last night, and I told him I was thinking about this. Thought became action, and these were the result. Of course, they may be served as a tasty snack, rather than a side dish.

Ingredients

• 1 pound frozen Tater Tots
• 1 pound fatty bacon
• 1-2 hot peppers, finely julienned
• Parmesan cheese (for garnish)
• Green onion (for garnish)
• Oil for frying

Start by pre-cooking the tater tots. Either by frying or cooking in the oven, prepare them according to package instructions. You pre cook them, so they will be crispy all around, when wrapped with bacon and cooked.

Cut each strip of bacon into 2-3 parts, each part long enough to wrap a tater tot fully. You want to use fatty bacon, as this will stick to the tot better during frying. Take each pre-cooked tot, and a slice of the pepper, and tightly wrap it with a piece of the bacon. Secure with a toothpick. Do this until you run out of tots or bacon !

Drop the tots into hot oil (350 degrees) and cook until the bacon is golden brown. Drain on paper towels, and remove the toothpicks. While still hot, grate some parmesan cheese, to taste onto the tots. Garnish with finely chopped green onions (in the picture, I used leeks, because I had them).

4B Burger (Beef, Braunschweiger, Bacon and Blue Cheese)

With Julia out of town on a mini-vacation, I decided to take advantage of that fact and make something I have wanted to try for some time now. Not that I think she would dislike it, she would probably just call it ‘too rich’. And rich, it most certainly is !

I have had all kinds of cravings for liver based food recently, and using the braunschweiger in this recipe met the desire. Combined with the fatty bacon and the strong blue cheese, you will know when you have eaten this burger!

Ingredients (per burger)

• 1/2 pound ground beef (80/20)
• 1/3 inch slice (about 1 1/2 ounces) of braunschweiger
• 3 strips of bacon, cooked
• About 1 1/2 ounces of blue cheese, crumbled
• 2 tablespoons of butter, melted
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Take the 1/2 pound of ground beef, and split it into 2 equal parts. Form each part into a 1/4 pound patty. Try to make the patties on the thin (1/4 inch) side. Take the braunschweiger and center it on one of the patties. Then top that with the second patty, completely sealing the braunschweiger in between. You want that juicy liver goodness in the center.

Salt and pepper the burger to your tastes and then brush both sides of it with the melted butter. Refrigerate the burger, so the butter gets into the meat and congeals.

Grill the burger as you normally would, but remember, it is a 1/2 pound of meat, so it may take a little longer than normal. Do not worry about the braunschweiger in the middle – it is already cooked. When the burger is right off the grill, and still very warm, top it with the bacon, then the blue cheese crumbles, and serve on a toasted sandwich roll. I found the fried sweet potato nest to be an excellent accompaniment.

Bacon Scotch Egg

This is a play on one of the bastions of English pub food, the Scotch Egg. The key difference here is that we are soft boiling rather than hard boiling the eggs, and substituting bacon (‘skinny bacon’ for my English friends) for the sausage meat. I posted a picture of this a while back on Facebook, but never really explained how to make it. Here is the recipe:

Ingredients (for 1 egg)

• 1 large egg
• 2 strips bacon
• 1/4 cup panko or bread crumbs
• 1/4 cup finely grated parmesan cheese

Start by soft boiling the egg(s). Get a pot of slightly salted water up to a full boil. Carefully add the eggs, making sure the shells do not break. For 1 to 4 eggs, let boil for 7 minutes. For 5-8 eggs, let boil for 8 minutes. Carefully remove the eggs from the boil, and immediately transfer to a bowl containing ice water, to stop the eggs from cooking any further.

When the eggs are cool, peel the shell from the eggs. Be very careful about this. Since the eggs are soft boiled, the yolks will still be liquid. Too much pressure while peeling the egg will cause the egg white to crack, and the yolk will ooze out – that would be bad !

Now wrap the eggs in the bacon. The bacon you should use for this should NOT be the thick cut variety. It should be thin and have lots of fat. Now is not the time for lean bacon. Wrap one strip of the bacon lengthwise around the egg, again being very careful not to crush the egg as to break the white. Take the second strip of bacon and spiral it around the egg. Make sure the egg is fully covered and the bacon is wrapped very tightly around the egg – this is why you should use really fatty bacon – it sticks together better.

Now bread the egg. Mix the panko and the parmesan cheese together, and begin coating the bacon wrapped eggs. Try to get as much of the coating to stick to the bacon as possible.

Now to the deep fryer. With the oil at about 350 degrees, carefully drop the egg into the oil and fry for about 5 minutes, until the bacon is golden brown and crisp. This is key, as a soggy bacon wrapped egg is no good. Don’t worry about the egg yolk becoming fully cooked – the bacon and the egg white will insulate it enough during the cooking process.

When the eggs are done, remove them from the oil and allow to drain on paper towels. Serve them as hot as possible.

These eggs are really good served over a crisp green salad, as shown in the picture. Lightly dress the greens with balsamic vinegar. When the eggs are cut into, the yolk will ooze out, and finish dressing the salad. Yum !

Bacon Fat Candle

Ah, bacon ! When I was growing up, my mother kept a container on the range, into which she poured rendered bacon fat, to be used as shorting and seasoning for many dishes. This was not only common in the south, but pretty much everywhere in the 50’s and 60’s. Not without reason, however, it has fallen out of favor due to health concerns. But food and cooking are like most things – all’s well in moderation. So it was with awe and amazement that I discovered the Bacon Fat Candle. I was watching a food show on TV which featured a fancy steak restaurant, and there, on the table, was the candle. I was shocked, as were the restaurant patrons, when the proprietor poured the ‘wax’ out of the candle, and onto the steak ! When he announced that it was bacon fat, I relaxed, and said to myself, “Yes, yes I can”!

Well, it turns out that you can buy bacon fat candles on the internet, but most of these are just ‘bacon scented’, and may not be edible. No worry – they are easy to make.

First, you will need a few candle supplies: A wick, a wick base, and an empty votive candle glass. All are readily available at art and craft stores, such as Michael’s or Hobby Lobby. Make sure you get wicks that are not wax coated, or that have metal cores.

 

Attach a candle wick to the wick base, and place it in your votive candle glass, making sure it is centered. I did this by using excess wick, wrapped around a toothpick, and suspending it into the glass.

After that, all you need is a pound of bacon. Simply chop up the bacon, put it in a pot (easier for pouring) and begin to cook it over medium low heat. The object is to render the fat, without fully cooking the bacon, and potentially burning it.  When you have enough bacon fat, pour it into the candle, and then refrigerate it, so the fat congeals. Of course, you should continue cooking the bacon, so you end up with a nice supply of fresh bacon bits.

When done, all you have to do is light the candle, wait for the fat to melt and enjoy the melted fat poured over a steak, as shown below. The candle will last for at least a month, covered and refrigerated.

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