There was a time when it seemed like drinking a Leinenkugel’s Red was extra special and “craft beer” like. Same held true with Sam Adams and a handful of others. And y’know, frankly, I’m grateful for those outfits putting out beers that at least tried to bend the malted beverage curve in a different direction both regionally and nationally before the craft beer revolution took hold. Of course, here in the Twin Cities area we’ve been blessed with 30-years of Summit Brewing, the area’s original craft brewer. And now we’re blessed with dozens of them in St. Paul and Minneapolis, and more than a hundred more and growing across the state. A state of bliss for beer lovers.
Bacon and beer go together like..um..bacon and beer! There’s no comparison. Our Craftapped crew had a blast at the recent Stanley’s Northeast 4th annual ‘Bacon & Beer Fest’, and when we were there it got me thinking of a recipe I’ve had around for quite a while – and one that came from the folks at Sam Adams, honestly. I’ve made a few adaptations, but it’s more or less the same bacon and beer game plan. Sometimes I’ll use cinnamon instead of mustard, too. You can use your favorite dark lager or ale for this one, and go ahead and play around. Even if you make a “mistake” it’s still going to be tasty!
Ingredients
1/2 cup honey, the darker the better
1/2 cup maple syrup
(I can’t emphasize enough that you use real honey and real maple syrup. That little plastic ‘honey’ bear and the kind face of Mrs. Butterworth may beckon from the grocery shelf – but don’t trust ’em!)
1 cup dark lager beer
1 T. grainy, coarse ground mustard
1 T. dry mustard
16 slices thick cut bacon (go to your favorite local butcher and get the good stuff)
Directions
Get your oven going to 300-degrees. Grab a baking sheet pan and line the bottom with parchment paper.
In a saucepan, add the honey and maple syrup and cook on medium heat until it boils. Reduce to simmer and let it go another 4 or 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the beer and continue to simmer and stir until the volume is reduced by half. Take off the heat and whisk in the mustards.
Arrange the bacon on the sheet pan, cover with another layer of parchment paper and bake for 15 minutes. When done, use paper towels to blot the fat from the bacon and bottom parchment layer. Brush half the glaze onto the bacon and return to the oven, with the temp reduced to 250-degrees. Cook for 20-minutes, flip the bacon slices, glaze the other side of the strips and return to the oven for an additional 20-minutes.
Plate ’em up and eat! You can also cut them into 2-inch segments and serve them as a party treat. I’ll often make a quadruple batch and just keep cycling in new sheet pans of bacon every 20 minutes and keep the good stuff coming hot and fresh to the party table. It goes without saying that the beer will be constantly flowing, as well.