The Recipe

Summer is nearly here and chances are I won't be able to see all of you this summer. I didn't want this to stop you from enjoying the latest in ice cream craze however, so here it is: the Bacon Ice Cream Recipe.

1 cup Grade A or B maple syrup
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup whole milk
Pinch salt
4 large egg yolks
3/4 teaspoon maple extract
1/2 lb Bacon
Waffle Cones or Waffle Cookies

Fry Bacon until crispy in a skillet and set aside on paper towels to cool. Once it has cooled chop the bacon into small "bits".

In a small saucepan, bring the maple syrup to a simmer and cook until reduced to 3/4 cup, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat.

In a medium saucepan, combine the cream, milk, reduced maple syrup, and a pinch of salt. Bring to a gentle boil over medium heat. Remove from the heat.

Beat the egg yolks in a medium bowl. Whisk 1 cup of the hot cream into the egg yolks. Gradually add the egg mixture in a slow, steady stream, to the hot cream. Return to medium-low heat and cook, whisking, until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and strain through a fine mesh strainer into a clean container. Whisk in the maple extract. Stir in the chopped bacon bits adding approximately 1/2 lb, or until there is a good distribution of bits in the cream. This should be about the same ratio you would find of chocolate chips in chocolate chip ice cream.

Cover with plastic wrap, pressing down against the surface to keep a skin from forming. Refrigerate until well chilled, at least 2 hours (We substituted the refrigeration & plastic wrap with stirring the mixture while resting in an ice bath to expedite the process).

Pour the mixture into your ice cream maker and freeze as you would normally.

Once frozen scoop into waffle cones, or onto waffle cookies and enjoy. Other suggestions have been to put this directly onto waffles or pancakes, and to drizzle with maple syrup. Have fun!