Bacon – the hot new restaurant ingredient [classic article]

According to Chain Leader, bacon is the hot new restaurant ingredient. Spurred by the now-passe’ Atkins diet, as well as an increase in fat into gourmet recipes (such as confit, etc.), as well as being an inexpensive ingredient, you’ll find it everywhere.

The big chains, like Friday’s, Applebees, Taco Bell, Golden Corral, IHOP, etc., are incorporating bacon into their menus. Bacon can be ground into hamburger meat, for a juicier burger, added to dressings, and apparently, desserts. It’s true! I’ve sampled Vosges bacon chocolate. It’s not bad, per se… but the flavors just don’t blend together.

Now, if you do like the idea of sweet and bacon, I have made in the past “carmelized bacon”. Take thick cut bacon and rub it with brown sugar. Put on a baking sheet and slowly bake on a low oven, like 250 for an hour. This was so good that when it was cooling on the table and I left the room for a second, I came back to find my dog, sitting on a chair like a person, eating the bacon!

I just hope that restaurants are open about when they use bacon, because some people might not want it for health or religious reasons.