Guest Post Friday – Maple Candied Bacon Bread Pudding

Under normal circumstances I might find the very thought of this recipe rather ridiculous.  However, after several days of being snowed in I find myself wondering if I can talk David into picking up some French bread for me (I have everything else on hand).  Hmm…better yet, perhaps I can talk Caleb into making it for me.  I wonder if his vehicle can make it out here…

by Caleb Holton 

Sooooooo. . . let’s be honest everyone. It’s February. Any remnants of those month-old New Year’s resolutions have long faded away into distant memory. After all those empty promises of “I’m going to eat healthy!” or “I’m going to go to the gym three times per week!” or “I’m never going to miss another choir practice again!” have gone out the window MISERABLY. So let’s make our failures drastically irreversible and simultaneously make ourselves feel better with the most decadent comfort food dessert ever: bread pudding. But not just any bread pudding. This is bread pudding that, as Ina would say, has the volume turned up.

Normal bread puddings are studded with raisins. Not mine. I don’t want anything that remotely resembles a “good source of vitamins.”

Mine has bacon.

Yes, you read that right.

Bacon.

Bask in the glow.

However I don’t just put plain cooked bacon in there. It needs some love and to be doctored up a bit. So, I play off the smokiness of the bacon by candy-ing it in maple syrup and brown sugar and the essential rum component of classic bread pudding is replaced by whiskey.

It’s decadent, it’s rich, it has no redeeming qualities as a food item, and you’re probably better off eating a Twinkie than you are this bread pudding. But I know I’ve tickled your fancy a little, right?

So here it is, the Maple Candied Bacon Bread Pudding recipe.

Bread pudding components:

1 large loaf of French bread (crustier = better, baguette +++++1)
5 large fresh eggs (best quality you can get since it’s such an important flavor)
2 cups heavy cream
…Either 2 tablespoons of pure vanilla extract or 1 tablespoon extract and the seeds from one vanilla pod
2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon of orange zest (the zest of about one orange)
2 tablespoons of whiskey
1 stick of room temperature unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Candied bacon components:

1 pound of slab bacon cut into lardons
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
1/4 cup brown sugar

Preparation:

Cut the bread into 1/2 inch cubes the day before you make this and let set out overnight to get stale and dry.

Brown the bacon in a large skillet. The best way to do this is to put the bacon into a cold pan and then turn the heat up to medium low to slowly render out all of the fat. This will allow the bacon to get crispy.
Drain the bacon on paper towels. Either discard the bacon fat or, if you’re smart like me, strain it to remove any impurities and freeze it for future applications. ZOMFG.

In the same skillet, add the maple syrup and brown sugar and add the bacon back to the pan. Turn the heat as low as possible and allow the bacon to steep in the maple syrup mixture.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Make your custard with the eggs, heavy cream, sugar, brown sugar, orange zest, whiskey, and salt by whisking vigorously until it’s one seamless, homogeneous mixture.

Grease a large baking dish with softened butter and layer the bread cubes and bacon. Pretend like you’re making the most amazing lasagna ever. Go ahead and dot the bread with some of your softened butter too.

Pour custard over the bread cubes and bacon. Push the bread down to immerse it in the custard. Allow to soak for ten minutes.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 45 minutes. For a topping I would recommend a basic pastry cream that has been thinned with whiskey and vanilla extract. Serve piping hot with large spoons, shovels if you have them.