Food Products That Aren't Food [General]
2012 Nov 30
I've seen a few different ideas and I know there are a couple you can buy (but they're not infused); I just decided last Christmas to give it a try. I experimented with vodka (success), bourbon (partial success) and tequila (abject failure) and with different combinations of smoked and unsmoked bacon, and different lengths of time to infuse.
I cooked the bacon so that much of the fat had rendered out but there was no crispiness, allowed it to cool to warm temperature and then placed it in an airtight jar filled with the respective liquor. I then poured a little out at different stages and filtered it through coffee filters until the liquor was as clear as I could get it. (It seems to be virtually impossible to remove all the fat, but I got most of it.) The winner was Absolut vodka infused for six months with smoked bacon; the flavour on its own isn't bad although you wouldn't want to drink much of it, but in a Caesar it's awesome. You do need to increase the ratio of vodka:clamato though otherwise the bacon gets a little lost, and be careful with the Worcestershire and Tabasco for the same reason. You might even be better without the Worcestershire.
Partial success was the bourbon, smoked bacon was a little overpowering and bitter but the unsmoked worked quite well; the smoky sweetness of the bourbon was nicely complemented. Not really a full success because the flavour wasn't particularly noticeable, even after six months' infusion.
I cooked the bacon so that much of the fat had rendered out but there was no crispiness, allowed it to cool to warm temperature and then placed it in an airtight jar filled with the respective liquor. I then poured a little out at different stages and filtered it through coffee filters until the liquor was as clear as I could get it. (It seems to be virtually impossible to remove all the fat, but I got most of it.) The winner was Absolut vodka infused for six months with smoked bacon; the flavour on its own isn't bad although you wouldn't want to drink much of it, but in a Caesar it's awesome. You do need to increase the ratio of vodka:clamato though otherwise the bacon gets a little lost, and be careful with the Worcestershire and Tabasco for the same reason. You might even be better without the Worcestershire.
Partial success was the bourbon, smoked bacon was a little overpowering and bitter but the unsmoked worked quite well; the smoky sweetness of the bourbon was nicely complemented. Not really a full success because the flavour wasn't particularly noticeable, even after six months' infusion.
2012 Nov 30
I think the one I saw used the bacon fat to infuse for 6-8 hours. In freezer. Skimmed off fat and done. I wonder how good it was though. Guy seems to like/love almost everything, either for flavour or for shock. The odd time you can tell he isn't keen, but maybe it's just because I've seen every episode. I hope there's a book after a while that outlines what he truly loved and hated/disliked.
blubarry
Bacon scented shaving cream! Apparently there exists bacon lube as well.
Any other weird foodie products that aren't really food? I once bought a bunch of erasers that looked like sushi.