Bacon, a breakfast staple loved across the world, can be eaten on its own, or used as an ingredient to flavour other dishes.
The Country Range Unsmoked Back Bacon previously won the ‘Best of the Best’ in the butchery category of the CCM Chefs’ Own Brand Awards. Each 2.27kg pack contains 34-42 tasty rashers of quality unsmoked rindless back bacon rashers.
To kick off this year’s Five Ways to Use feature, we have Country Range development chef Paul Dickson sharing five innovative ideas for how to use one of the nation’s favourite ingredients.
ABOUT: PAUL DICKSON
Paul Dickson, is the Country Range development chef. With over 30 years’ experience throughout the foodservice industry, he understands the challenges facing you, our catering customers. Working with the Country Range team and using the latest insight trends, he develops exciting menu solutions that fit every type of customer outlet.
- Bacon jam
Bacon jam makes a great condiment alongside cheese to add to on-trend burgers and hot dogs. Other ways you can use it is to add a spoonful to soup to give it extra flavour. To create your own, simply fine dice onions and bacon, fry until golden and then add equal quantities of vinegar and sugar and reduce to a sticky consistency. Store in a clean airtight jar and keep cool in the fridge.
- Chestnut or prune canapés
Bacon is great to wrap around a variety of ingredients to create delicious canapés or as an addition to a winter afternoon tea, to dine in or take away. Take eight rashers of bacon and cut in half to create 16 smaller pieces. Wrap 16 water chestnuts or prunes and use a cocktail stick to keep the bacon in place. Roast in a hot oven to crisp the bacon and serve with Country Range Barbecue Sauce for dipping.
- Crispy bacon crumb coating
Grill your bacon until crispy then crumble the bacon and mix with Country Range Panko Breadcrumbs to create an amazing coating for a variety of dishes. Chicken, pork or even a meaty fish will all benefit from the umami punch this crumb adds to dishes. My personal favourite is coating cauliflower florets and serving them with a curried mayonnaise.
- Maple candied bacon
For those customers who love bacon, this is the ultimate garnish to treat them with. Simply brush both sides of eight rashers of bacon with a mix of brown sugar and maple syrup. Add a little milled black pepper and place on a wire rack over a baking tray in the oven. Bake at 160°C for 15 minutes, turning the tray and making sure the bacon is crispy. It can be added to pancakes, muffins, scones or even as a garnish for a bloody Mary.
- Homemade chicken liver pâté
When making chicken liver pâté I like to line my terrine mould with bacon. It protects the pâté from overcooking and gives it a great flavour. It also looks terrific when cut into slices!
Product: Country Range Unsmoked Back Bacon, Pack size: 2.27kg