Cheap Bastid's Foodie Tuesday: Chocolate Covered BACON!

I love chocolate. (Who doesn’t). And, I love bacon. (Who doesn’t)? Not long ago I came across a post about combining these 2 delectable flavors and it instantly made my mouth water. I checked it out online and found a source:

Mo’s Bacon Bar by Vosge’s. It’s $7.50 for a 1 oz bar online.

So I got looking some more and came up with other places which do this delicacy like Marini’s Chocolate Covered Bacon in Santa Cruz, CA. Look at the photo below and notice that it’s $4.50 for a quarter pound. That comes out to $18 a pound! Wow!

So I told myself, “Self, you can do this yourself!” And yesterday I did. And it’s both easy and GOOOOOOOOOOD! Cheap Bastid did it and had never worked with chocolate before!!

Chocolate Covered Bacon
Bacon
Chocolate (I used semi-sweet chips but you can also use a chopped up bar or baking chocolate)

How much? First, however much bacon you want. A half pound; a full pound, whatever. Whatever kind of bacon you like. Thick sliced works better and smoked bacon gives the best taste. But my $2.00 pound “store brand” bacon did just fine for a first attempt.

And then start off with about a cup of chocolate for a half pound, maybe a cup and a half for a full pound. (If you’re using chocolate chips you can start a bit low and then add more).

Cut the bacon strips in half. Fry the bacon either in a skillet where you can keep it flat or on a cookie sheet and parchment paper in the oven at about 375. Get it as well done as you want although you might want to avoid the level of crispiness where it shatters. Drain and cool on paper towels.

Set up a double boiler—I used a small metal mixing bowl in a sauce pan of simmering water. Put in the chocolate and let it melt stirring as it softens. Or, you could melt it in the microwave.

I used a silicone basting brush to “paint” the chocolate on the bacon. If I were doing a half pound or more I would put the melted chocolate in a flat bottom dish and dip the bacon into it. Put the bacon either on parchment paper or, I used a cooling rack with a silicone mat underneath.

Transfer the chocolate coated bacon to the fridge for about a half hour. Then enjoy the smokey, chocolaty, sweet, salty goodness that caresses your palate and makes your mouth happy!

It’s that easy. And, it'll cost about $3.50 to do half a pound of bacon. Cheap Bastid wins again!

BONUS for Foodie Tuesday!!!

Keeping Your Grill Clean

This weekend is the 4th of July. Many of us will be grilling. This morning I saw a commercial for using “Pam” spray on a grill. Please don’t waste your Pam that way. The vast majority of what you spray will just go up in the air or into the grilling area not on the grill itself. Here are a couple of options:

Start with a clean grill! Use a brush on a hot grill to get the crud off it (brass bristle that you can buy in the paint department of Home Depot, Lowe’s or WalMart works great and is cheaper).

If you want to oil your grill, take a paper towel and fold it into 4ths, drizzle a couple of teaspoons of oil on it, fold it one more time and then use your long handled brush to rub the oiled paper towel rapidly over the grill. (Be quick, I’ve burned up a bunch of oily paper towels in my day). Then let your grill continue to heat and start cooking.

Or, one of the things that Bobby Flay says constantly is to oil the food not the grill. Rub a thin skim of oil onto your food with your fingers or a brush.

Or, just make sure that your grill is hot and clean. The main reason people oil their grill is to keep food from sticking. If your food is sticking, it’s because it’s not ready to be turned yet. Wait another 30 seconds or minute and try again. When it’s ready to turn, it will release! I can’t tell you the number of hamburgers I’ve demolished trying to flip them too soon until I learned to just wait another 30 seconds to minute and try again. (If it’s burned when you flip it that means you’re using too much heat).

Have a fantastic 4th of July. And if you get the chance, listen to Jimmy Buffett’s “The Night They Painted the Sky” a ballad about fireworks on the 4th of July.
http://mog.com/music/Jimmy_Buffett/Barometer_Soup/The_Night_I_Painted_the_Sky