#bar bacon

RECIPE: Bacon chorizo fundido (from The Bacon Bible by Peter Sherman and Stephanie Banyas)

This is more or less a cheese dip with some amped-up bacon extras. The cheese really acts as a binder for the bacon chorizo sausage, and yes, more pork product (chicharrónes, or fried pork skins) are added to scoop it all up. If you don’t have chicharrónes on hand, plain old tortilla or pita chips will work, too.

Serves 4 to 6

2 tablespoons canola oil

6 ounces (170 g) thin-sliced bacon

6 ounces (170 g) Bacon-Chipotle Chorizo (see below), removed from casings, or any fresh store bought chorizo

1 small Spanish onion, finely diced

¼ cup (30 g) all-purpose flour

4 cups (960 ml) whole milk, plus more if needed

6 ounces (170 g) white American cheese slices

6 ounces (170 g) white cheddar cheese, shredded

6 ounces (170 g) smoked gouda cheese, shredded

¼ teaspoon smoked paprika

Pinch of ground cayenne

¼ cup (40 g) sliced pickled jalapeños

¼ cup (10 g) fresh cilantro leaves, for garnish

Spice-Rubbed Fried Pork Rinds (Chicharrónes) or baked tortilla or pita chips

In a large cast-iron pan, heat the oil over medium heat, add the bacon, and cook, stirring a few times, until golden brown and crispy, about 8 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove the bacon to a plate lined with paper towels, let cool slightly, then coarsely chop. Add the chorizo to the pan and cook until golden brown and cooked through, about 10 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the chorizo to another plate lined with paper towels. Pour off all but 4 tablespoons of the fat from the pan.

Add the onion to the pan and cook until soft, about 4 minutes. Add the flour and cook, stirring constantly, to form a roux, about 2 minutes. Whisk in the milk and continue whisking until the mixture is smooth, starts to thicken, and the flour taste has cooked out, about 10 minutes.

Whisk in the American, cheddar, and gouda and continue whisking until smooth. Season with the paprika and cayenne and cook for 30 seconds longer. Stir in the chorizo. Remove from the heat and top with the cooked bacon, the jalapeños, and cilantro. Serve in the cast-iron pan with pork rinds on the side.

RECIPE: Bacon-chipotle chorizo

I am a little obsessed with canned chipotle chiles—which are smoked jalapeños in a vinegary adobo sauce. Traditional Mexican chorizo has a lot of smoked paprika, which gives it its deep red color. I prefer using the chipotle, which adds the same color and smokiness but a good kick of heat too that, in my opinion, store-bought chorizo is lacking.

Makes 5 pounds (2.3 kg); 16 (5-ounce/140-g) links or patties

12 ounces (340 g) thin-sliced bacon

4 pounds (1.8 kg) ground pork (80/20)

¼ cup (60 ml) plus 1 tablespoon pureed chipotles in adobo

3 garlic cloves, finely chopped

2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh thyme leaves

¼ cup (10 g) finely chopped fresh cilantro leaves

3 tablespoons kosher salt

1 tablespoon phosphates

2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

1 teaspoon dried oregano

½ teaspoon ground cloves

½ teaspoon ground allspice

1¾ cups (420 ml) cold water

Hog casings, if using

Put the bacon on a plate and freeze for 15 minutes before slicing to make it easier to cut. Transfer to a cutting board, stack several pieces on top of each other, and slice crosswise into pieces ¼ inch (6 mm) thick.

Put the bacon, pork, chipotles, garlic, thyme, cilantro, salt, phosphates, black pepper, oregano, cloves, and allspice in an extra-large bowl and mix with your hands until combined. Add the cold water and carefully incorporate so you don’t spill any water out of the bowl.

If you are planning to make patties and not links, divide the mixture into 16 equal portions (5 ounces/140 g each), then form into patties. (Alternatively, the meat mixture can be frozen to be made into patties later: Shape and roll mixture into two logs about 6 inches [15 cm] long each. Wrap in plastic wrap and foil and freeze. To use, thaw and slice into patties with a knife, then cook. Or if you like, you can shape into patties, and layer them individually onto a parchment lined baking sheet and freeze. Then remove and add to a gallon-size zip-top freezer bag.)

Bacon is Peter Sherman’s North Star. In 2014, he opened BarBacon, a bacon-themed gastropub in New York City, to immediate critical and financial success, and he has become the go-to bacon guru for the world. Sherman has a nearly religious devotion to bacon, and in his tome, The Bacon Bible, he shares more than 200 recipes that show you how to incorporate bacon into nearly any meal you can imagine.

There are the classics, like BLTs, wedge salads, and mac and cheese, but the book really encourages you to cook with bacon in unexpected ways with recipes like Bacon Ramen, Chipotle Bacon Tacos, and Bacon Bourbon Oatmeal Pancakes. Peter also teaches you the basics, like how to cure simple bacon from scratch. He has a mad-scientist approach to bacon and is a firm believer that it should be a part of every meal. With this cookbook, you’ll never think of bacon the same way.

RECIPE: BarBacon Caramel Popcorn (from The Bacon Bible by Peter Sherman)

We serve bowls of this gratis at the bar at BarBacon. Salty and sweet. Customers don’t know what to make of it, so they just keep eating—and thus, keep drinking. Mission accomplished.

Makes 12 cups (132 g)

1 tablespoon canola oil, plus more for popping the corn

6 thick slices bacon, cut crosswise into ¼-inch (6-mm) pieces

¾ cup (170 g) popcorn kernels

1½ teaspoons kosher salt

½ cup (115 g) unsalted butter, cut into pieces

1 cup (220 g) dark brown sugar

½ cup (120 ml) light corn syrup

1½ teaspoons baking soda

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

½ teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 250°F (120°C). Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Put the oil and bacon in large Dutch oven and cook over medium heat, turning once, until golden brown and crisp and the fat has rendered, about 8 minutes. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon to a plate lined with paper towels and transfer the rendered fat to a small bowl.

Measure the rendered fat back into the pot; add additional canola oil as needed to make 7 tablespoons fat total. Pour the popcorn kernels in an even layer in the bottom of the pan and sprinkle 1 teaspoon salt over the top.

Turn the heat to medium-high and cook until a few of the kernels begin to pop. Once the kernels begin to pop, cover the pot. Once the popcorn begins to pop at a rapid rate, start shaking the pan back and forth over the burner. Once the popping slows to several seconds between pops, remove the pan from the heat, remove the lid, and immediately dump the popcorn into a wide bowl.

Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over high heat. Add the brown sugar and corn syrup and cook, whisking constantly, until the sugar has melted and the mixture is smooth. Remove from the heat and whisk in the baking soda, vanilla, and pepper until smooth.

Pour the caramel over the popcorn and gently stir until coated.

Spread the caramel popcorn on the prepared sheet pan in an even layer and bake for 1 hour, stirring once after 30 minutes.

Transfer to a large bowl and add the bacon. The popcorn will keep, tightly covered in a cool, dark place, for up to 3 days.

Bacon is Peter Sherman’s North Star. In 2014, he opened BarBacon, a bacon-themed gastropub in New York City, to immediate critical and financial success, and he has become the go-to bacon guru for the world. Sherman has a nearly religious devotion to bacon, and in his tome, The Bacon Bible, he shares more than 200 recipes that show you how to incorporate bacon into nearly any meal you can imagine.

There are the classics, like BLTs, wedge salads, and mac and cheese, but the book really encourages you to cook with bacon in unexpected ways with recipes like Bacon Ramen, Chipotle Bacon Tacos, and Bacon Bourbon Oatmeal Pancakes. Peter also teaches you the basics, like how to cure simple bacon from scratch. He has a mad-scientist approach to bacon and is a firm believer that it should be a part of every meal. With this cookbook, you’ll never think of bacon the same way.