This year, for the Memphis in May BBQ Fest "Anything But: Exotic" competition, I submitted a dessert entry. Now, the "Anything But....." competition is generally perceived to be a not-pork entry. So there's lots of wild game & lamb. So a number of years ago, my best finish was 14th out of 73 for the best lamb chops I've ever made. Proud entry. The winner that year made bacon-wrapped jalapeños. Yep. Poppers. Nothing exotic about that, right? Well the "not pork" part of their entry was a mango cream cheese...it just so happened to be wrapped in bacon.
Sooooo, this year, I decided to pull out all the stops and try to win this thing. Italian cannoli......a light pastry dough, fried into a hollow tube, filled with a citrusy & sweetened ricotta.
Except this year, my cannoli tube wasn't going to be fried pastry. It was going to be home-cured, chocolate covered bacon. Yep. bacon cannoli tubes. I struggled for weeks to make tubes out of grocery bacon. It didn't work. Either it lost its shape and wouldn't hold a tube, or it would overcook and stick to the form, shattering at any attempt to free it. But in a last ditch effort, I cured my bacon. This flavor profile was black pepper, bay leaf, and some bourbon. Smoked with maple and apple wood. Bacon was on point. Miraculously, it formed a perfect tube! BBQ Fest was on......
Slice the bacon, form a bunch of tubes, and make the filling mix. Drain the ricotta for a couple nights in the fridge....whip in about a 1/2C powdered sugar, and fold in some lemon zest.
Get to BBQ Fest, crisp the pre-made bacon tubes, and melt the dark chocolate in the smoker. Roll the bacon tubes in the melted & smoked chocolate, and toss in roasted pistachios. Freeze for a couple hours, fill with the mixture, and freeze some more....it was hot, after all.
Unfortunately, it was a moral victory. This was the best tasting, most incredible, and most creative thing I've ever made......the judges didn't agree. But it was beautifully plated with edible flowers and chocolate-covered strawberries.
Sooooo, this year, I decided to pull out all the stops and try to win this thing. Italian cannoli......a light pastry dough, fried into a hollow tube, filled with a citrusy & sweetened ricotta.
Except this year, my cannoli tube wasn't going to be fried pastry. It was going to be home-cured, chocolate covered bacon. Yep. bacon cannoli tubes. I struggled for weeks to make tubes out of grocery bacon. It didn't work. Either it lost its shape and wouldn't hold a tube, or it would overcook and stick to the form, shattering at any attempt to free it. But in a last ditch effort, I cured my bacon. This flavor profile was black pepper, bay leaf, and some bourbon. Smoked with maple and apple wood. Bacon was on point. Miraculously, it formed a perfect tube! BBQ Fest was on......
Slice the bacon, form a bunch of tubes, and make the filling mix. Drain the ricotta for a couple nights in the fridge....whip in about a 1/2C powdered sugar, and fold in some lemon zest.
Get to BBQ Fest, crisp the pre-made bacon tubes, and melt the dark chocolate in the smoker. Roll the bacon tubes in the melted & smoked chocolate, and toss in roasted pistachios. Freeze for a couple hours, fill with the mixture, and freeze some more....it was hot, after all.
Unfortunately, it was a moral victory. This was the best tasting, most incredible, and most creative thing I've ever made......the judges didn't agree. But it was beautifully plated with edible flowers and chocolate-covered strawberries.
