Oh, the fun things you can do with bacon…! Wow your friends and family with my Maple and Whiskey Candied Bacon Ice Cream recipe. It tastes a bit like egg nog ice cream only a few thousand times better. Trust me, you will win over everyone at the table, even those who say they don’t really like eating dessert or have a sweet tooth. Silly me I did not take a photo of this recipe for you guys, but I will try and make it again soon. You will need an ice cream maker for this one, too.
First you’ll have to make your candied bacon. Make a few extra pieces so you can use as a garnish, because really you can never have too much candied bacon.
Take 12 strips of bacon and sprinkle both side with brown sugar and a couple dashes of cayenne pepper. Bake on a tin foil lined cookie sheet for about 30 minutes at 375 degrees or until fully cooked and slightly crunchy. Keep an eye on these so they don’t burn. Remove immediately and place on a rack or plate. You can put them in the freezer until you will need for the ice cream.
For the ice cream you’ll need:
- 3 Tbs unsalted butter
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup maple syrup
- 2 cup half-and-half
- 3/4 heavy whipping cream
- 5 large egg yolks
- 1/4 cup whiskey
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
To make the ice cream custard, pour the half and half and heavy whipping cream together in a measuring cup. Melt the butter with salt in a heavy, medium-size saucepan. Stir in the brown sugar, maple syrup and HALF of the half-and-half/cream mixture. Pour the remaining half-and-half/cream mixture into a bowl set in an ice bath and set a mesh strainer over the top.
In a separate bowl, stir together the egg yolks, then gradually add some of the warm brown sugar/maple syrup mixture to them, whisking the yolks constantly as you pour. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan.
Cook over low to moderate heat, constantly stirring and scraping the bottom with a heatproof spatula, until the custard thickens enough to coat the spatula.
Strain the custard into the half-and-half, stirring over the ice bath, until cool. Add liquor, vanilla and cinnamon. Here is where the fun begins. Give your mixture a taste and adjust sweetness, vanilla, cinnamon or whiskey, if needed.
Refrigerate the mixture. Once thoroughly chilled, freeze in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Add the bacon bits during the last moment of churning, or stir them in when you remove the ice cream from the machine. Place your mixture in an airtight container and freeze for a few hours. Serve and garnish with left over candied bacon strips.
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