Meat Candy: Bacon Pine Nut Caramel
This recipe is inspired by the San Francisco trip we took this summer. On our way out of San Francisco we made a quick stop at China Town, picked up some goodies and on the road we went. One of the items I got was half a pound of “meat cookie”. It was a cookie made with cured Chinese sausage, it was sweet with equally amount of savory, a cookie non like any other I’ve ever had. I ordered it by curiosity, but as soon as I opened the package and popped one in my mouth, I knew I should have gotten more… But driving back to San Francisco was not an option, so I have been contemplating putting the flavors together the best I could ever since that trip. This is what I came up with: Bacon Pine Nut Caramel
- 2 C. sugar;
- 1 C. light corn syrup.
- 1-1/2 C. heavy cream;
- 1 t. pure vanilla extract.
- 1 stick of unsalted butter;
- 12 strips of bacon, cooked and cut into thin shreds;
- 1 C. toasted pine nuts
Step (1)
Mix sugar and corn syrup together until well combined. Heat the mixture on a medium low heat until sugar begins to melt. Stir constantly to keep the mixture evenly heated until the temperature reaches 310F. An infrared digital thermometer shown in the picture wil make easy, accurate temperature reading. Remove the syrup from the heat.Step (2) Heat cream and vanilla to just before boiling.
Step (3) Pour the cream and vanilla mixture to the syrup slowly, stir while pouring. There will be some bubbling, keep stirring to form a smooth mixture.
Step (4) Return the mixture to the heat. Bring it to a boil and keep cooking until some of the moisture from the cream evaporated, then cook until the temperature reaches 245-250 F, turn off the heat.
Step (5) Add butter, bacon and pine nuts, stirring to incorporate all ingredients together. Pour the mixture onto a greased 10”x13” pan. Cool, then place in the refrigerator for 20 minutes. Cut into small pieces. Wrap with wax paper.
