ABT test w/wo simmered bacon

[daveomak]

Awhile back I asked about boiling bacon for ABTs.

Well here is the test.

Simmered at 165ish covered for about an hour. Placed between paper towels to dry and remove more fat.

Pepper boats stuffed with raw andouille left over from casing stuffing. Sweet onion and jack layered.

Simmered and raw bacon added to finish.

Wrapping the "boat" ABTs w/bacon was a PITA. Decided to lay it on. The wrinkled and the wrapped bacon is the simmered bacon.

I remembered the camera before we ate them all. The dark brown, crisp bacon is the stuff that was simmered.

The ABTs were all good.

The simmered bacon was wwwaaaayyyy crisper and the crisp texture improved the experience.

Should have precooked the andouille sausage to reduce the fat in the boat and used less of it.

More jack cheese and more onion. When the flavor of the pepper, jack, onion and bacon were all present in the ABT is was a real flavor treat. Undescribable.

I need to be more consistent in the addition of ingredients to obtain that balance of sweet, salty, crispy, cheesy.

The pepper boats need to be salted before stuffed and a hole poked in them to allow fat to escape.

The bacon needs salt after simmering.

The simmered bacon test was a good one. It is how I will prepare the bacon for ABTs from now on.

I am very happy with the results. 

Thanks to all who responded to my previous thread.

The next test will include different cheeses.

 

[rbranstner]

Hmm interesting. The only issue I would run into is when we make them for family gatherings we are making 100+ at a time so that would be a lot of bacon to try and simmer.

 

[Bearcarver]

Sounds like a PITA, but they all look great!

I'll take 5 of each!

Bear

 

[SmokinAl]

Were you using thick sliced bacon? The reason I ask is that I use the thinnest bacon I can find & it comes out crispy every time without precooking.

 

[realtorterry]

Im with Al on the thin bacon. I also move them close to the firebox side for the last few minutes to crisp up!

 

[chef willie]

Ditto with Al & Terry on the thin bacon. I cut mine in half and wrap around the ABT, stretching it as needed...holds everything together nicely and gets crisp. I also do mine on a rack so most of the fat drips away and the ABT's don't sit in it. If you like 'em, that's all that counts

 

[alelover]

They are easier to wrap with thin bacon. They both look good though.

 

[stircrazy]

I would be concerned that the boiling of the bacon would also make it a lot more bland.. boiling bacon just sounds wrong

Steve

 

[rbranstner]

Ditto with Al & Terry on the thin bacon. I cut mine in half and wrap around the ABT, stretching it as needed...holds everything together nicely and gets crisp. I also do mine on a rack so most of the fat drips away and the ABT's don't sit in it. If you like 'em, that's all that counts

I'm the same way. Get the most thin bacon you can find and cut them in half and wrap them around the pepper and put them right on the grate. They always come out nice and crispy. If you need to kick up the heat for the last little bit to make them a little more crispy.