Tender Belly Bacon Shines at Central City Bacon Tour

Bacon lovers from around Colorado gathered recently for the Central City Bacon Tour, where local chefs showed off their favorite bacon-based recipes, from the classic BLT to the most off-the-wall apps and desserts you can imagine. Tender Belly was right in the thick of it, handing out tasty bacon samples to attendees and providing the main ingredient – um, bacon – for each entry into the Bacon Recipe Contest.  Our congrats to the winners – Esteban Thomas for the overall Bacon Recipe winner and Jordan Sanders for the People’s Choice. Here, we’re celebrating three of our favorite recipes from this year’s Bacon Tour – all hand-crafted by innovative chefs who love bacon almost as much as we do: House-Cured Pork Belly Bacon, Palisades Peach-n-Fresno Jam with Bacon GastricChef: Jesse Albertini of Hive in the Botanical Gardens Ingredients BaconPork Belly Sugar 2 cups Salt 1 cup Cumin 1/4 cup Coriander 1/4 cup Paprika 1/4 cup Bacon GastriqueApple cider vinegar Sugar Belly Jelly Bacon Peach-n-fresno JamPeaches Confessed 1 lb. Fresno Chiles 1/4 lb. Orange juice 3 cups Lemon juice 1 cup Sugar 2 cups Ginger 1/4 cup Salt to taste Directions Bacon

1. Rub pork belly with cure.
2. Let sit for 2 days.
3. Wash off cure and pat dry.
4. Confit pork belly in bacon.
5. Impart smoke with smoke gun.

Bacon GastriqueReduce until thick and sweet. Peach -n- Fresno JamCook together, blending slightly. Panzano’s Sweet + Smoky BaconChef: Aaron Berstein of Panzano in Denver Ingredients Pork Belly 1 side Brown sugar 2 cup Kosher salt 1/2 cup Pink salt 1 tbsp Black pepper 2 tbsp Smoked paprika 2 tbsp Garlic 1 tbsp Chipotle peppers 1 can Instructions 1. Combine all ingredients, then set for 5 days. 2. Smoke at 190 degrees with apple wood chips until temperature is 151 degrees. Bacon S’mores BarkChef: Jordan Sanders  Ingredients Bacon S’mores BarkDark chocolate 20 oz Tender Belly Bacon 1 lb Slightly crushed graham crackers 1 cup MarshmallowsGelatin 3 1/2 tsp Water 4 fl oz Granulated sugar 14 oz Corn syrup 6 3/4 oz Water 2 oz Salt 1/4 tsp Vanilla extract 1 tbsp Confectioners sugar for dusting Candied BaconBrown sugar 1/2 cup Salt Cinnamon Nutmeg Cayenne pepper Bacon/uncooked 1/2 lb Instructions 1. Prepare pan; place down aluminum foil on pan with 1 inch left on one side. Brush well with butter to keep from sticking. 2. Sprinkle gelatin over the 4 oz of water in electric mixing bowl; let bloom 10 minutes. 3. Combine granulated sugar, corn syrup, 2 oz water in a pan; boil until it reaches hard ball stage (250 degrees). 4. With whip attachment, slowly increase speed of mixer while adding the hot sugar mixture; mix for a minute or so to make sure everything is incorporated. Add salt. 5. Beat for 12 minutes; may have to switch to a paddle attachment if your whisk is not strong enough to stir the mix; add vanilla and mix until incorporated. 6. Pour into prepared pan; can invert a sheet tray over the marshmallows to allow them to dry overnight but not dry out. They’ll need at least 3 hours of dry time. 7. Once ready, sprinkle a good layer of powdered sugar over the marshmallows, invert onto a cutting board and peel back the foil. Cut marshmallows into desired size. To keep them from sticking to each other, toss with more powdered sugar. 8. To prepare bacon candy, mix sugar and spices. (Spices are to taste.) 9. Toss bacon strips one at a time in brown sugar mix; place onto a sheet tray with a rack. 10. After all of the strips are prepped, sprinkle excess sugar over them, for good measure. 11. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes until the edges of the bacon start turning dark brown. Take bacon off rack; let cool, then chop. 12. Bake the second pound of bacon as is until crispy to give the crunchy, salty taste within the bark. 13. To prepare for the bark, cover sheet pan with parchment paper. 14. Temper the chocolate in a bowl over a double boiler, bringing chocolate to 120 degrees. In an ice bath, bring it down to 81 degrees, then bring the chocolate back up to 89-91 degrees either with the boiler or working quickly and stirring vigorously over fire. 15. Once chocolate is tempered, add a handful of marshmallows, candied bacon and regular bacon, saving some bacon to garnish the top. 16. Pour chocolate mix into prepared pan, and spread evenly. 17. Sprinkle extra bacon and marshmallows on top of mixture with the graham crackers. 18. Let set in fridge. Once you can touch the chocolate without leaving a fingerprint, it is ready. Try out these award-winning recipes with Tender Belly products!