There are certain culinary trends that are well and truly overplayed and can probably go away now, like trying to balance an entire menu of appetizers on top of a Bloody Mary.
But then there are others that, despite being oversaturated, will always have a welcome home on my tastebuds. Namely: salted caramel anything and bacon in desserts, and the common denominator of those two is the concept of salty-sweet. There’s some kind of magical alchemy that occurs when the perfect amount of salt is added to sweet dishes. It’s just science, no big deal.
With that in mind, it should come as no surprise that bacon is a perfect addition to one of the sweetest candy treats of all, the New Orleans praline. I’m talk next level sugar coma, people. If you manage to stop at one, I salute you. Plus, this is another great way to include meat in every meal course!
These sugary morsels are quite easy to make, though you do need serious elbow grease for the hand beating part. Stick with it – everyone likes a toned bicep.
Recipe after the pics!
New Orleans style Pecan & Bacon Pralines
- Yield: 24 pieces 1x
Ingredients
6–8 slices of bacon, chopped into small squares and fried/baked until crisp
2 cups pecans (combination of halves and chopped pieces)
3 cups brown sugar
¼ cup unsalted butter
1 cup heavy cream
2 tbsp light corn syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
salt for sprinkling (Fleur de Sel works best)
Instructions
- Toast the pecans in a pan or in the oven until they begin to darken and become fragrant
- Combine sugar, cream, corn syrup and butter in a high sided heavy based saucepan and bring to the boil
- Remove from the heat at 233f (it should continue to cook off the stove and reach 236f which is the correct setting temp, but leaving it on for longer can result in crumbly pralines)
- Allow the mix to stand until the temperature decreases to 150f, should take 10-15 minutes
- Stir in vanilla, pecans and bacon
- Grab a wooden spoon, and beat the mixture vigorously until it lightens in color and loses it’s gloss
- Spoon onto greaseproof paper, working quickly as the mixture will begin to harden rapidly
- Sprinkle with salt to finish and allow to cool completely, then store in airtight container – Best eaten within 2-3 days (I doubt they’ll last that long)
Notes
A candy thermometer is an essential tool to make sure your pralines hit the right consistency.
