Another Bacon Post

I realize that the timing of this post may be a little off. Right after Thanksgiving, with all it's feasting and excesses, and heading into the holidays, to be shown a picture of Brussels sprouts lends a jarring note to all that frivolity. But, just you wait!  These are not worthy, health-inducing sprouts; they are decadent and sinful.

The reason is, of course, bacon.  Not only were they garnished with bacon bits, but they were braised with just a soupçon of water and a nice dollop of bacon fat.  I'd had a little dish of bacon fat in the back of the fridge for quite some time (it keeps nearly forever), and decided to use some of it to add flavor to My Beloved's least favorite veg. By the time the water had evaporated, the bacon fat browned them ever so slightly for an even richer flavor. While once again it didn't serve to convince My Beloved to love Brussels sprouts, even he admitted they were my best preparation of those little green balls so far.

But, that's not the only discovery regarding bacon fat that I made while prepping this meal. See that slider at the back of the plate? I also learned that hamburgers cooked in bacon fat is the ONLY way to go. You see, we like rare or at least medium-rare hamburgers, so we only have a short cooking time. But, I also like them to be nicely caramelized on the outside for the best flavor, and that's hard to achieve when cooking with butter. The butter tends to burn on high heat leaving a burned taste, and if you cook it on lower heat, the meat doesn't caramelize. 

Enter the bacon fat, the hero of this story!  Bacon fat burns at a higher temperature than butter, so you can get a really good sear on the outside of your burger while still leaving the interior nicely pink. Plus, you get a nice, light bacon flavor along with your burger, always a bonus.

You'd think that, after 40 years of cooking, I would have figured this out earlier, but isn't that what is fun about cooking anyway?  I love learning new things just when I thought I was pretty proficient. 

Hope your Thanksgiving was fulsome and fun. And on to the holidays!