Home-style Bacon Bourbon

August 5, 2008 by Marianne

So I finally did it. I made bacon bourbon over the weekend to share with some friends, and I thought I’d give you the step-by-step account. First things first, introductions. Bacon, meet Bourbon. Bourbon, Bacon.

Okay, pleasantries out of the way, I fried up a few slices. The recipes I’ve read have called for anywhere from 1 to 4 ounces of bacon grease. I went with about 2, although I didn’t actually measure so it could have been as much as 3. I used fresh, hot grease to warm up some grease i’d been saving in the fridge, and poured them into a clean pitcher.

And now the Bacon and Bourbon are getting to know each other on a more intimate level.

Mmm…congealing already.

While the infusion process takes place, I share the bacon bounty with my most discriminating friend.

After 2 hours at room temperature, I placed the pitcher in the freezer for more than an hour so all the grease could become very firm. I used a slotted spoon to fish out the larger chunks of grease, then I went with a double straining method: first, with a wire mesh strainer, then with cheese cloth and a funnel to make sure no little bacony bits made it back into the bottle.

And voila! Ready for tasting. In tomorrow’s exciting installment: Did Anybody Like It?!