I was inspired to make this dish after buying a packet of peanuts with maple bacon on my last trip to New York. I bought it in a deli on Bleecker Street and shipped it home with me ~ much to the amusement of the customs official at Sydney airport who found the whole concept of pairing bacon and peanuts and sweet, sticky syrup utterly bizarre… I decided to see what the outcome would be if I added in a few other ingredients and this is the outcome. It’s very tasty and works well I think. Do try and use the very best quality chocolate you can get your hands on, I used Mast Brothers Chocolate as I also brought back rather a lot of their amazing chocolate too on same said trip.
INGREDIENTS
- 400g top quality chocolate
- 8 rashers streaky free-range bacon
- 3 teaspoons good quality maple syrup
- 1 cup roasted shelled peanuts
- ½ teaspoon chilli flakes
- Sea salt flakes
- Freshly ground black pepper
METHOD
- Melt the chocolate in a heat-proof bowl set over a saucepan of water on low-medium heat ~ don’t let the bottom of the bowl touch the water in the pan. Slowly melt the chocolate, stirring often until smooth and set aside momentarily.
- Cut away excess fat from the bacon and using a kitchen scissors snip into very small cubes, spray a frying pan with a little light olive oil and fry bacon until crispy and golden. Remove from the pan and throughly pat dry on kitchen paper.
- Add cooked bacon to a small bowl along with the maple syrup and peanuts, followed by a small pinch of black pepper, crushed sea salt flakes and the chilli flakes. Stir everything together then add to the melted chocolate.
- Pour onto a baking tray lined with non-stick parchment or a silicone mat and using an angled palette knife spread out thinly and evenly to a thickness of about 0.75cm (or as thin as you can go).
- Place in the fridge to chill until set hard (about an hour).
- When set break into pieces with a toffee hammer or using your hands.
