Chocolate Covered… Bacon?

This month at the County Fair, one of the vendors was selling chocolate covered bacon. Apparently, it’s all the rage on the Fair circuit this year.

I bet I know what you’re thinking right now: “Chocolate covered… BACON? Ewww!”

And now that you’ve thought about it a little longer, you’re perhaps finding the idea oddly compelling.

Me too.  So I made some… 

Personally, I think everything is better with bacon. And I think chocolate can cure almost anything that may ail you. But combining these two mighty yet incredibly divergent foods could be the kind of irredeemable kitchen heresy that Mary Shelley was guilty of with Dr. Frankenstein. Nevertheless, the Mad Scientist in me had to try it…

The verdict: It seemed impossible, but this unholy marriage of pork fat and cocoa beans makes a distinctive and surprisingly super-delicious combination—the kind of oddball culinary mix-up my husband likes to call “kinky food.”

Here’s how to do it (in a quantity small enough not to unleash the Apocalypse):

Chocolate Covered Bacon

• 4 slices nitrate-free, uncured, extra-thick slab bacon
• 4 ounces organic, dairy-free dark chocolate bar made with 70%-80% cocoa
• 1 tsp. coconut oil
• Sea salt

1. Turn on oven to 200 degrees or the lowest setting.
2. Break the chocolate bar into small pieces and place in an oven-proof dish that is at least 6 inches wide. (I used my pyrex 1 quart measuring cup.) Add coconut oil and put in the oven on the lower rack. (Alternately, you could melt the chocolate and coconut oil in a double boiler if you have one, but I find the oven to be easier.)
3. Fry or broil some uncured, nitrate-free, extra-thick slab bacon. You want it thoroughly cooked, but you don’t want it so crispy and stiff that it crumbles apart when it cools down.
4. Place the cooked bacon on some paper towels to soak up excess grease and let cool down enough that you can touch it.
5. By the time the bacon is done, the chocolate should be nearly melted, but keep an eye on it while the bacon cooks. Stir the chocolate to help it melt smoothly and uniformly.
6. Once the chocolate mix is melted and smooth, remove it from the oven or take it off the stove.
7. Use tongs or a fork to dip your bacon slices into the melted chocolate. Make sure you coat both sides thickly, and leave an uncoated end like a “handle.”
8. Lay each piece on a cookie sheet covered with aluminum foil or wax paper to cool.
9. When all slices are fully coated in chocolate, sprinkle sea salt over them, and put them in the fridge to harden.
10. Enjoy the salty-sweet, smoky goodness! Or not.

Have you had chocolate covered bacon? Tell me what you think of it!

This post is part of Real Food Wednesdays hosted by Kelly the Kitchen Kop!

Tagged as: kinky food, Recipes, whole food