Oh my goodness! First of all, this recipe has bacon in it, secondly it has bacon in it! So you just know, it has to be good. Try this as a topping for a salad, baked sweet or regular potatoes, a steak, ice cream – vanilla or maple fudge, a very fattening snack, a cocktail reception – well you get the idea, just make some. I must apologize for the quantity shown in the picture, there was a lot more when it came out of the oven. I don’t know what happened to it – ahem.
So simple, so tasty (did I mention it has bacon in it – mmmmmmmmm). The recipe comes from the Epicurious site but I adapted (as usual). Give it a try, your family will love you for it. But make lots, I made the mistake of using 4 slices of bacon – you can clearly see there aren’t 4 slices in the picture.
10 slices bacon, cut up into 1/4″ pieces (line up the bacon and slice away)
2 tbsp. sesame seeds
1/2 cup sugar
1 tbsp. cayenne pepper (of course my variation – use less if you must)
Line a baking tray with parchment or silpat
Add the cut bacon into a medium sized frying pan over medium heat (note, a non-stick pan works best for this recipe as you are working with sugar that needs to be caramelized – the non-stick makes clean up a breeze)
When the bacon starts to crisp up, drain the oil from the pan
Add the sesame seeds and stir – 30 seconds or so (make sure your heat is not above medium)
Then add the sugar and cayenne – stir this into the bacon, sesame seed mixture
As the sugar melts, it doesn’t take long and will go from perfect to burnt in seconds so stir away, but be careful and don’t burn yourself, the colour will darken – the original recipe says it should be the colour of chocolate – I think that’s too dark so maybe a caramel colour is better
Pour the mixture onto the parchment lined tray and spread it out – if you have done it right, it should harden within 5 – 10 minutes on the tray
If it is still soft or tacky after 10 minutes, put it back in the pan as it will not harden (sorry that’s the rules of chemistry, not my recipe rules) and continue to stir until it darkens a bit more, then pour it back out onto the parchment lined tray. This is a messy step so you might just want to serve it like that, just use a buttered knife to cut it into pieces – maybe strips and serve as a topping – trust me, no one will complain! Then make some more so you know how to do it properly as you will make this again, really!
When it has cooled, break it into pieces and serve in any way you like
As always – enjoy!
Bacon Sesame Brittle