Caramel Bacon Dip: Infusing Sugar Syrup with Salty Meat
Sometimes accidents in the kitchen lead to the smoke alarms yelling at you, and sometimes it leads to something unexpected and delicious. Using bacon almost always leads to something tasty, and my latest kitchen mishap proved that theory to be true! Bacon Infused Caramel Dip was meant to be!
I was working on a new cookie recipe for the Game Day Dessert Table series, and failed to follow the directions. (Definitely not the first nor the last time for that! Ha!) However, this time I was rewarded for my lack of focus! I intended to candy bacon in a simple syrup, instead it cooked down to a bacon-infused caramel! (Stay tuned because once I followed the instructions, those cookies turned out awesome 😜).
How bacon infused caramel happened…
First, I finely chopped the cooked and cooled bacon. (Mistake #1 – I was supposed to leave the bacon in whole strips to be able to dry on a cooling rack. (Clearly, you can’t dry bacon bits on a rack! LOL) Next, I added the chopped bacon to the sugar water mixture, and set it to simmer on low. It was supposed to soak for 90 minutes; however, 25 minutes in, I no longer had a clear syrup. Instead, I had thick, golden brown caramel. (Mistake #2 – The sugar water mixture was too hot, so it reduced instead of infused.) Lesson: Trust your instincts with recipe temperatures and times, because no two appliances work the same! Always consider them a guide.
My pot was simmering on the lowest heat setting (as the recipe instructed) when it should have been at more of a “poaching” temperature. It needed to be just warm enough to candy the bacon pieces and draw out the bacon flavor, while keeping the liquid a syrup.
Knowing it would harden once it cooled, I strained out the bacon pieces from the sauce to repurpose later. I tasted my “mistaken” bacon-infused caramel, and realized I had naturally salted caramel, with a hint of smoky bacon! This was not a mistake after all, I was sitting on a gold mine! I was planning to develop a dessert dip for my upcoming series, anyways. This “mistake” inspired me to create this Bacon Infused Caramel Dip!
How to make the caramel into a sauce…
Plain cooked sugar hardens as it cools, so cream and butter are needed to make it a sauce. Strain the bacon caramel directly into the pan you’ll heat it in. I poured it into a bowl while I planned, but I wound up having to pry it from the bowl. To transform the caramel into a sauce, place the pan over very low heat until it’s melted and smooth.
Once the caramel is liquid, stir in the cream until there are no streaks and finish by mixing in the butter. Your caramel is now a pourable sauce and can be removed from the heat. Add a splash of maple extract for an extra layer of flavor (or use maple bacon!)! Since this sauce will now stay soft, it’s perfect to spoon it over ice cream, drizzle over brownies or mix into a dip! Adding less cream and butter will keep it thicker, allowing you to alter the consistency to your specific needs.
Transforming into a bacon-infused caramel dip…
To transform this from a caramel sauce to a game day dip, whip slightly cooled sauce into half of a brick of room temperature cream cheese. The sauce brings the dominant flavors – sugar, salt, and smokiness – and the cream cheese adds a slight tang while giving it light, whipped texture that won’t break your pretzel! Finally, fold the candied bacon bits in, sprinkle them on top, do a little of both, or skip them all together!
This week’s Dessert Bar…
This is ideal for game day because it can be made in advance, and well… BACON!! You can use anything as dippers – pretzels, crackers, apples, cookies, even chips! Stay tuned through the week, or subscribe, for the whole collection of bacon-themed recipes to add to your own Game Day Dessert Table!
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Caramel Bacon Dip
Ingredients
- 8 ounces bacon cooked and finely chopped
- 16 ounces sugar
- 8 ounces water
- 50 g heavy cream
- 15 g unsalted butter room temperature
- 113 g cream cheese room temperature
Instructions
- Combine sugar and water in small saucepan and heat until sugar is dissolved.
- Add finely chopped bacon and stir.
- Simmer over lowest heat setting for 20-30 minutes, or until syrup has thickened and amber brown
- Immediately pour into stainless mesh colander to separate bacon pieces from caramel.
- In small, shallow pan, heat bacon caramel until liquid (if cooled).
- Stir in cream completely, finish with butter. Cool slightly.
- Combine cream cheese and bacon caramel sauce and whip until completely incorporated and fluffy.
