Brown Butter Bacon Ice Cream Recipes

MAPLE-BACON CRUNCH ICE CREAM

Steps:

• Make the ice cream: Whisk the egg yolks, sugar and salt in a bowl until pale yellow. Transfer to a saucepan and whisk in the milk. Cook over medium heat, stirring, until almost simmering (the mixture should be thick enough to coat a spoon). Stir in the maple syrup. Transfer to a bowl and refrigerate until cold, about 30 minutes.
• Make the bacon brittle: Butter a rimmed baking sheet. Cook the bacon in a medium skillet over medium heat until crisp, about 5 minutes per side; transfer to paper towels to drain. Let the bacon cool, then very finely chop.
• Cook the sugar in a saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until it melts and turns golden, about 4 minutes. (If lumps form, remove from the heat and continue stirring until melted.) Continue to cook, stirring, until light amber, about 2 more minutes. Remove from the heat and immediately stir in the butter. Carefully stir in the baking soda, then the bacon and chile powder. Pour onto the prepared baking sheet and let cool until set, about 15 minutes. Break into bite-size pieces, then smash about one-third of the brittle into shards with a meat mallet or heavy skillet. Reserve the remaining brittle in a container for up to 3 days.
• Stir the cream into the chilled custard. Churn in an ice cream maker. Stir in the bacon brittle shards. Transfer to an airtight container and freeze until firm, at least 2 hours.

CANDIED BACON AND BROWN BUTTER ICE CREAM

Steps:

• Rub together the bacon and brown sugar and bake in a 325° oven until crisp. Let cool, then chop into small pieces. Heat the butter over medium heat in a heavy-bottom saucepan until it is a deep brown color and smells nutty. Whisk in the milk and cream, scraping the bits off the bottom of the pot. Bring mixture to a boil and remove from heat for 1 hour. Then refrigerate until cold enough for the fats to solidify. Strain mixture through a fine mesh sieve, discarding the solidified fats. Return mixture to pot, add powdered milk, and place on stove over medium heat. In the meantime, whisk together the sugar, salt, and yolks in a bowl. When the milk mixture comes to a simmer, temper the egg mixture with milk mixture, then pour it back into the pot. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until slightly thickened (enough to coat the back of the spoon). Strain through a fine mesh sieve and chill in the pot in an ice bath until cold. Freeze in an ice cream machine according to the manufacturer's instructions. Fold half of the candied bacon into the ice cream as you remove it from the machine. Reserve the other half to sprinkle on top before serving.

BROWN BUTTER BACON ICE CREAM

Steps:

• For the candied bacon: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F/200 degrees C. Lay the strips of bacon on a baking sheet lined with a silicone mat or aluminum foil, shiny-side down.
• Sprinkle 1 1/2 to 2 teaspoons brown sugar evenly over each strip of bacon, depending on length.
• Bake for 12 to 16 minutes. Midway through baking, flip the bacon strips over and drag them through the dark, syrupy liquid that's collected on the baking sheet. Continue to bake until the bacon is as dark as mahogany. Remove from oven and cool the bacon strips on a wire rack.
• Once cooled and crisp, chop the bacon into little pieces.
• For the ice cream custard: Melt the butter in a heavy, medium-size saucepan. Stir in the brown sugar and half of the half-and-half. Pour the remaining half-and-half into a bowl set in an ice bath and set a mesh strainer over the top.
• In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, then gradually whisk in some of the warm brown sugar mixture. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan.
• Cook over low to moderate heat, constantly stirring and scraping the bottom with a heatproof spatula, until the custard thickens enough to coat the spatula.
• Add the rum, vanilla and cinnamon.
• Chill the mixture for about 5 hours. Once thoroughly chilled, pour into ice cream maker. Add the bacon bits during the last moment of churning, or stir them in when you remove the ice cream from the machine.

CANDIED BACON ICE CREAM

Steps:

• To candy the bacon, preheat the oven to 400F (200C).
• Lay the strips of bacon on a baking sheet lined with a silicone mat or aluminum foil, shiny side down.
• Sprinkle 1½-2 teaspoons of brown sugar evenly over each strip of bacon, depending on length.
• Bake for 12-16 minutes.
• Midway during baking, flip the bacon strips over and drag them through the dark, syrupy liquid that's collected on the baking sheet.
• Continue to bake until as dark as mahogany.
• Remove from oven and cool the strips on a wire rack.
• Once crisp and cool, chop into little pieces, about the size of grains of rice.
• (Bacon bits can be stored in an airtight container and chilled for a day or so, or stored in the freezer a few weeks ahead.).
• To make the ice cream custard, melt the butter in a heavy, medium-size saucepan.
• Stir in the brown sugar and half of the half-and-half.
• Pour the remaining half-and-half into a bowl set in an ice bath and set a mesh strainer over the top.
• In a separate bowl, stir together the egg yolks, then gradually add some of the warm brown sugar mixture to them, whisking the yolks constantly as you pour.
• Pour the mixture back into the saucepan.
• Cook over low to moderate heat, constantly stirring and scraping the bottom with a heatproof spatula, until the custard thickens enough to coat the spatula.
• Strain the custard into the half-and-half, stirring over the ice bath, until cool.
• Add liquor, vanilla and cinnamon, if using.
• Refrigerate the mixture.
• Once thoroughly chilled, freeze in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.
• Add the bacon bits during the last moment of churning, or stir them in when you remove the ice cream from the machine.

PEANUT BUTTER, CHOCOLATE CHIP, AND BACON ICE CREAM

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
• Place bacon slices on the baking sheet and coat with brown sugar only on one side.
• Bake in the preheated oven, flipping once half way through, until browned and caramelized, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove bacon from the oven and place on a wire rack. Cool, break into small pieces, and set aside.
• Add peanut butter, sugar, and salt to a large mixing bowl. Blend until smooth using an electric mixer. Add milk, mixing on low speed until sugar is dissolved. Stir in the heavy cream and vanilla just until incorporated.
• Pour into an ice cream maker and churn according to manufacturer's instructions, about 20 minutes. Gradually sprinkle chocolate chips and crumbled bacon over the ice cream in the last few minutes of churning. Do not over churn because you may dissolve the bacon.
• Transfer the ice cream to an airtight container and freeze, 3 hours to overnight.

BROWN BUTTER ICE CREAM

Steps:

• Cut the butter into cubes and place in a medium saucepan (the pan should be big enough to prevent boil overs, as the butter will foam up a lot). Place over medium heat until butter melts, shaking occasionally. Once the large bubbles subside, watch closely until the butter is golden and the solids are nicely browned. Immediately pour the melted butter into a bowl. (If the solids get a little too dark, you can strain them out and discard them.).
• Rinse out and dry the saucepan. Put half the sugar in the pan, and half into a blender. Add the milk to the saucepan, and place over low heat, stirring well to dissolve the sugar.
• Meanwhile, add the egg yolks to the sugar in the blender. Process until combined, then, while still running, drizzle the brown butter into the yolk-sugar mixture.
• When the milk-sugar mixture is almost simmering, turn the blender on again and drizzle in the liquid. Add the salt and process until well blended. Continue to process while slowly adding the ice-cold heavy cream. Transfer to a bowl, cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate until very cold, at least 2 hours or up to overnight.
• Churn in your ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions. At the very end, two or three minutes before turning off the machine, add the fleur de sel and churn until incorporated.