SMOKED BACON ICE CREAM WILL BECOME YOUR NEW FAVORITE!

Our homemade Smoked Bacon Ice Cream is absolutely delicious!

 As promised, we have a bacon ice cream recipe that will have you craving this as your new favorite flavor.  To complete this recipe, be sure to visit our posting on making your own smoked bacon which by itself, is super easy using the grill of your choice.

Then save just 1-1/2 cups of the bacon for the ice cream recipe and enjoy the rest in recipes or just crisped up.  Though I warn you, you’ll want to reserve more for making additional ice cream.  This creamy, salty flavor with just a hint of rum that will remind you of praline or brittle.   Get out your ice cream maker – you’ll need at least a quart size one –  and your smoked bacon and let’s make the most memorable ice cream flavor ever.

Make the Creamy Base

After smoking the 3-pound pork belly, I reserve about 6 slices and dice the bacon to produce 1-1/2 cups of micro cubes.  Here’s where you can decide how you want the final ice cream to be.  If you prefer a less sweet version, then be sure to crisp up the bacon slices before dicing and these will be added as is to the finish ice cream as it comes out of the ice cream maker.  If you want a sweeter, more praline type of finish, then you’ll proceed to our directive on making the sugar caramel base that the diced bacon will be added to.

#cream

First, we need an ice cream base so collect salted butter, vanilla, dark brown sugar and dark rum.  To start, melt 3 tablespoons of salted butter in a heavy saucepan.  Add ¾ cup dark brown sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla, and ¼ cup dark rum stirring for about 2 minutes to combine.  Whisk in 3 cups of cold, heavy whipping cream to the mixture and bring to a simmer.  Remove from the heat.  Get 6 large egg yolks separated into a bowl as we will begin the tempering process of the eggs to produce a rich ice cream base.

#eggs

With the 6 egg yolks placed in a bowl, begin whisking them until pale yellow in color.  Tempering eggs means you are slowly adding a hot liquid to eggs in a slow stream and constantly whisking in order to prevent the eggs from scrambling.  I prefer to pour the hot cream mixture from the saucepan to a large measuring cup in order to have a spout for controlling the amount of liquid added to the whisked eggs.  Once the cream mixture is completely added to the egg yolks, place the combination back into a saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly until the mixture thickens.  You’ll know it is ready when the mixture coats the spatula and you can run your finger thru the coated cream and it doesn’t run back.  Remove from the heat.

#strainer

Once the egg-cream mixture has been thickened and removed from the heat, it’s time to remove any solids.  Start by getting a large bowl full of ice and a second smaller bowl to place on top of the ice bowl.  Using a sieve, pour the egg-cream mixture into the sieve that has been placed over the smaller bowl.  I like to pour the egg-cream mixture from the saucepan to a spouted pitcher to make accuracy of the pour.  Once the mixture has passed through the sieve, you’ll see some solids collected.  Those can be discarded.   Refrigerate this mixture for a least 2 hours.  We’re now ready to start working on the bacon filling.

Sweet or Savory Filling

Here’s the point in our recipe where you need to make a decision.  If you want a sweeter smoked bacon ice cream, then proceed with this step to make a bacon praline.  If you prefer a more subtle sweetness, then simply crisp up your bacon before dicing and that can be added as is to the ice cream maker.

#praline #baconpraline

For the praline, start by lining a sheet pan with a piece of parchment paper.  Place 1 cup of granulated sugar in a heavy saucepan and pour ¼ cup of water over the sugar – do not stir!  Turn the heat to medium-low and bring the sugar-water mixture to a boil.  Continue to boil the mixture until it turns amber in color which takes about 15 minutes.  Add the 1-1/2 cups of diced smoked bacon and stir quickly.  Remove from the heat and pour the mixture onto the parchment-lined sheet pan to cool.  Be sure to smooth the mixture into a thin layer.  Once set, break the praline into large chunks, then process in a food processor until coarse crumbs result.

While you were making that luscious bacon praline, our ice cream base was cooling in the refrigerator getting ready for the ice cream maker.  You’ll need a least a quart size ice cream maker for the finish to our recipe.  This is where you follow the directions for your specific ice cream maker.

#icecreammixture

While the ice cream maker is running, pour in the cooled ice cream into the maker.  My maker takes 25 minutes to produce the ice cream consistency.  Just a few minutes before the ice cream is ready, I add the smoked bacon praline or if your using only the bacon, the diced smoked bacon pieces.  Just mix for a few turns then turn off the maker and immediately pour the mixture into a freezer safe container.   Place the container into the freezer preferable overnight before scooping out and enjoying this creamy, salty combination.  Remember, this only becomes the best smoked bacon ice cream when you make your own smoked bacon.

#icecream #icecreammaker

A creamy, rich ice cream with a twist you’ll find becomes a favorite flavor fast.

What’s your favorite recipe featuring homemade smoked bacon?  Leave us a comment to opine and subscribe to get all our postings on tips, techniques and recipes.  Bringing innovation to wood fired cooking with recipes, techniques and the science behind the fire, smoke, and flavor. That’s SmokinLicious®.