Bacon Nation: 125 Irresistible Recipes (19 page)

4 slices thick-cut bacon

8 thin boneless pork chops (about ½ inch thick and 4 ounces each)

8 fresh sage leaves

Freshly ground black pepper

¼ cup unbleached all-purpose flour, seasoned with salt and pepper

½ cup homemade bread crumbs (see
page 32
)

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, or more if necessary

1 large shallot, diced

4 to 6 ounces cremini or baby portobello mushrooms, stems trimmed, mushrooms wiped clean and sliced about ½ inch thick

½ cup Marsala

½ cup low-sodium chicken stock

¼ cup finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

1
Cook the bacon in a large skillet over medium heat until lightly browned, but not crisp, on both sides, 6 to 7 minutes. Turn the slices and adjust the heat, as necessary. Using tongs, transfer the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate to drain, reserving 1 tablespoon of the bacon fat in the skillet. When cool, cut each slice of bacon in half crosswise.

2
Place the pork chops between 2 pieces of plastic wrap or waxed paper and, using a meat mallet or the flat side of a cleaver, pound each several times until it is about ¼ inch thick.

3
Arrange 4 pork chops on a work surface. Arrange 2 sage leaves side by side in the center of each chop, then top each sage leaf with a half slice of the cooked bacon. Season the chops with pepper to taste. Arrange the remaining 4 pork chops on top of the bacon and sage filling to make “sandwiches.” Press the edges of the chops together so that they will adhere while cooking.

4
Place the seasoned flour in a shallow bowl; place the bread crumbs in a second shallow bowl (pie plates work well for this). Dredge each of the pork sandwiches lightly on both sides in the seasoned flour and then in the bread crumbs, pressing on the crumbs so they stick to the pork.

5
Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the skillet with the bacon fat and heat over medium-high heat until the fats begin to shimmer, about 30 seconds. Place the pork sandwiches in the skillet, reduce the heat to medium, and cook until the bread-crumb crusts are a golden brown on the bottom, 3 to 5 minutes. Carefully turn over each pork sandwich to brown the second side, 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer the pork sandwiches to a platter and set it in a warm place.

6
Add another tablespoon of olive oil to the skillet. Add the shallot and cook until softened, 2 to 3 minutes, stirring and scraping up any brown bits from the bottom of the skillet. Add the mushrooms and Marsala, let come to a boil, and cook until the sauce begins to reduce, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the chicken stock and cook until the sauce has a slightly syrupy consistency, 2 to 3 minutes.

7
Return the pork sandwiches to the skillet. Reduce the heat as necessary so that the saltimbocca simmer gently until just warmed through, 3 to 4 minutes. Spoon a little of the pan sauce over each serving and sprinkle the chopped parsley on top.

Serves 3 to 4

Cathy Erway is one of the great young food bloggers (her blog is Not Eating Out in New York) and food personalities in New York City. Of Taiwanese heritage, she sometimes likes to play around with traditional recipes. We asked her to put her talents to work on bacon and here is the lovely result.

This is a traditional Szechuan dish made with fresh pork belly, which is stewed until tender and then sliced and quickly stir-fried with vegetables. Cathy has used slab bacon in place of the pork belly, and there’s enough bacon in the dish to serve as a light lunch or supper with rice. The ingredients make a lovely pan sauce, and it’s an interesting use of slab bacon. The flavor of fresh ginger is still making our mouths tingle. We also like that celery plays a prominent role in the dish, and very few recipes, except in Chinese cooking, use celery as a starring vegetable.

Cathy’s most recent book is The Art of Eating In: How I Learned to Stop Spending and Love the Stove. She hosts the Heritage Radio Network podcast “Let’s Eat In.”

12 ounces slab bacon, rind removed (see
page 57
)

1 tablespoon canola or vegetable oil

1 large leek, white and light green parts only, cut in half lengthwise, rinsed well, and sliced ¼ inch thick on the diagonal

3 ribs celery, preferably Chinese celery, thinly sliced on the diagonal

1 cup fresh bean sprouts

1 piece (about 1 inch long) fresh ginger, peeled and cut into julienne strips

½ cup rice wine

1 tablespoon chile and fermented bean sauce (see Note)

1 teaspoon soy sauce

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 teaspoon coarsely crushed Szechuan or black peppercorns (optional)

Steamed brown or white rice, for serving

1
Bring 2 quarts of water to a boil in a large pot. Add the slab bacon, cover the pot, and let simmer until the bacon softens slightly, 2 to 3 minutes. Using tongs, transfer the slab bacon to a cutting board and let it cool. When cool, slice the bacon into thin, floppy strips about ⅛ to ¼ inch thick, 1 inch wide, and 2 inches long.

2
Set a wok or a large skillet over high heat and when hot add the canola or vegetable oil. Add the bacon slices and cook until just crisped, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Transfer the bacon to a large bowl and set it aside. If after crisping the bacon slices you find that some still have an excessive amount of fat, trim it off before returning the bacon to the wok with the vegetables.

3
Add the leek, celery, bean sprouts, and ginger to the wok or skillet and stir-fry until the vegetables are just softened, 2 to 3 minutes. Return the bacon to the pan and add the rice wine. Let the liquid boil for a few seconds, then add the chile and fermented bean sauce and the soy sauce. Stir and taste for seasoning, adding salt and pepper as necessary. Sprinkle the crushed peppercorns over all, if using. Serve with brown or white rice.

Makes 2 sandwiches

Make a sandwich with bacon and melted cheese on grilled bread for lunch and everybody’s happy. We tried lots of different cheeses and Midnight Moon is our first choice. It’s an aged goat’s-milk cheese with a firm, dense texture and a taste that is both buttery and nutty. While other cheeses will make a fine grilled cheese, tomato, and bacon sandwich, it’s worth hunting for Midnight Moon, as its flavor is distinctive. For best results use a good-quality multigrain bread. If you can’t find Midnight Moon in your market or specialty cheese shop, you can substitute a good Swiss, Gouda, or Morbier (which is Daniel Boulud’s favorite for his Frenchie Burger).

4 slices thick- or regular-cut bacon

4 slices multigrain bread, each about ½ inch thick

4 to 5 ounces thinly sliced Midnight Moon cheese

2 slices ripe tomato, each about ½ inch thick

Freshly ground black pepper

2 very thin red onion slices

1
Cook the bacon in a large skillet over medium heat until browned and crisp, 6 to 8 minutes, depending on the thickness of the bacon, using tongs to turn the slices and adjusting the heat as necessary. The skillet should be big enough to hold 2 slices of bread side by side. Transfer the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate to drain, reserving the bacon fat in a small cup or bowl. Wipe the skillet clean with paper towels and set it aside.

2
Place 2 of the slices of bread on a work surface. Place a quarter of the cheese on top of each slice of bread. Place a slice of tomato over each stack of cheese. Season the tomato slices with pepper to taste. Place 2 bacon slices on each tomato slice, breaking the bacon into pieces if necessary to fit. Place a red onion slice over the bacon on each sandwich. Divide the remaining slices of cheese evenly between the 2 sandwiches and press the cheese gently onto the onion. Top each sandwich with one of the remaining slices of bread. Gently press down on the top of each sandwich.

3
Heat 2 teaspoons of the reserved bacon fat over medium-low heat in the wiped skillet. Place the sandwiches in the skillet. Brush the top of each sandwich lightly with the remaining bacon fat. Cover the sandwiches with a lid that is slightly smaller than the skillet to weigh the sandwiches down. Cook the sandwiches until both sides are browned, 4 to 5 minutes per side, reducing the heat if the bread browns too quickly. Transfer the sandwiches to individual plates and let stand for 30 seconds to 1 minute to allow the cheese to set slightly before slicing each sandwich in half and serving.

Makes 2 sandwiches

Now, everybody knows that a BLT has mayonnaise, but we thought there had to be another way, and then a visit to Ted & Honey, a lovely sandwich shop in Brooklyn’s Cobble Hill neighborhood, caused a little lightbulb to shine in the bacon part of our brains: avocado. It has the fat and creaminess of mayo and its own nutty and fresh flavor that makes for an even more healthful BLT—or, as we like to think of it, BLAT. To make up for the vinegar in the mayo, a squeeze of lemon juice adds a bright, tart fruitiness. When only mayo will do for your BLT, we suggest going whole hog (!) and slathering your sandwich with Bacon Aioli (recipe follows).

6 slices bacon (thin to medium thickness, depending on your preference)

1 medium-size ripe Hass avocado, peeled and with pit removed

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

¼ teaspoon salt, or more to taste

Freshly ground black pepper

2 dashes your choice of hot sauce (optional), or more to taste

2 leaves romaine lettuce, large enough to slightly overlap the edges of the bread

4 slices multigrain bread, toasted

1 medium-size ripe tomato (preferably locally grown), cored and cut into 4 thin slices

1
Cook the bacon in a large skillet (preferably cast-iron) over medium heat until browned and crisp, 6 to 8 minutes, depending on the thickness of the bacon, using tongs to turn the slices and adjusting the heat as necessary. Transfer the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate to drain.

2
Combine the avocado, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and hot sauce, if using, in a small bowl and mash the avocado with a fork until smooth. Taste for seasoning, adding more salt and/or hot sauce as necessary. Set the avocado spread aside. Rinse the romaine lettuce leaves and pat them dry with paper towels.

3
Place 2 of the slices of bread on a work surface. Spread each slice with half of the avocado spread. Layer the lettuce, tomato, and bacon over the spread, dividing the ingredients evenly between each sandwich. (If the bacon slices overlap the bread, simply cut or fold them in half to fit within the bread’s edges.) Top each sandwich with the remaining slice of bread, then cut the sandwiches in half and serve immediately.

Bacon Aioli

Makes about 1 cup

First a confession: We are not huge fans of straight old-fashioned mayonnaise. But aioli is a horse of a different color. Garlic gives aioli a completely different aspect and bacon steps right in and lets garlic know there is more than one powerful flavor in this game. The apple cider vinegar lends a bit of subtle sweetness. Try the aioli as a sandwich spread, a dip for raw vegetables, a sauce for grilled fish, or a filling for hard-cooked eggs; or toss enough of it to coat a salad mixture of romaine leaves and croutons. And don’t forget to try the aioli on a BLT. You may never eat another one without it.

3 slices bacon, diced

1 whole large head garlic

⅔ cup mayonnaise

1⅓ teaspoons apple cider vinegar

Salt and freshly ground black pepper