You can easily infuse spirits with the flavor of bacon through a technique called fat washing. The honeyed sweetness of good ol' bourbon just happens to go particularly well with bacon, making bacon bourbon a heaven-in-your-mouth pairing.
Can't wait to try it? Here's the recipe from my upcoming book, The Introvert's Guide to Drinking Alone, available June 27th!
Bacon Bourbon
Ingredients:
- Four slices of thick, quality smoked bacon.
- One bottle (750 ml) bourbon
- Fry the bacon. Eat it. Save the bacon fat (around ¼ cup).
- Once the fat is slightly cooled, combine it with the bourbon in an airtight container. Something with straight sides is highly recommended.
- Shake the dickens out of it.
- Let it sit at room temp for four-ish hours before putting it in the fridge for up to a week. The fat should solidify and float on top when it's ready to strain. (You can also put it in the freezer, but I haven't had as much success with this method.)
- Remove solidified fat and save for anything requiring bourbon bacon butter. Mmmm.
- Strain the bourbon through either several layers of cheesecloth or a coffee filter (this takes forever, so put your patience cap on) into a clean bottle.
- Can be stored at room temp for up to six months before turning rancid.
And don't forget you can infuse more than just bourbon with bacon. For example, vodka!
