Our masterpiece, the Bacon Bowl Salad

When I heard that our good friends Tony and Kristi were coming to visit for a fun filled weekend, I immediately began dreaming of the culinary adventures to come.  When we get together, the food ideas begin to flow and some tasty feasts follow. Those of you in Ohio who have a passion for bacon and more great food may want to know about culinary schools in Ohio.

Tony and Kristi with our dog Kelli

We had an idea that transformed into a masterpiece, the Bacon Bowl Salad.

The idea spawned from Tony’s recipe for Maple Sugar Bacon, which actually tastes like a “bacon brittle”.  Once we made this, we realized that the bacon could be formed and hold its shape once cooled.  The idea juices began flowing and we ended up with the Bacon Bowl Salad.

• 13 strips of good quality hickory smoked bacon sliced thick
• 2-3 tsp real maple syrup
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• your favorite salad fixings and dressing

Start by placing foil on the bottom of a broiler pan and preheating the oven to 325 degrees.  Layer the bacon on the top of the ungreased broiler pan.  It is important to use a broiler pan or deep baking dish with a raised slotted surface, to allow the excess fat to drip away from the bacon.

Bacon weaving, not as easy as it looks!

Weave the bacon using seven columns and six rows.  Be careful not to stretch the bacon as you weave it.  Leave the loose ends untucked so the bacon cooks uniformly.

So proud of our accomplishment

Place the broiler pan with bacon weave into the oven for about 45 minutes to an hour on325 degrees.  The bacon should be close to crispy but slightly soft and still pliable when you remove it from the oven.

Starting to look like this might work

Sprinkle with the brown sugar and drizzle with the maple syrup.  Try to evenly coat the entire bacon weave with the brown sugar and syrup.  Little clumps of brown sugar are OK since it will melt onto the bacon when cooked again.

A little longer in the oven to meld the flavors

Cook the bacon weave for another 10-15 minutes.  Be sure to watch it closely so that the suger does not burn.  It should come out of the oven golden brown, not burnt black which can happen quickly due to the sugar cooking too long.  This is also a good time to prepare the salad and dressing to serve in the bacon bowl.

Place a heat safe glass bowl (Pyrex works great if you have it) upside down on a foil lined dish.  Remove the candied bacon from the oven when it turns a golden brown color and the syrup has melded with the sugar.

Using two sets of tongs or long spatulas, transfer the bacon weave on top of the overturned bowl being careful to center it.  Lightly press down the edges to form the bacon weave loosely to the bowl.

Cooling on a bowl, almost ready to eat

Blot the bacon bowl with paper towels to remove any excess grease.  Allow it to cool and harden 5-10 minutes.

When it is just hardened, carefully turn over the glass bowl, laying the bacon bowl onto your serving dish.

"IT LIVES!!" In my best Dr. Frankenstein voice

We served a salad with baby lettuce, freeze dried corn, dried cranberries, chopped cashews, fresh avocado, and blue cheese.  Tony also whipped up an impromptu maple balsamic vinaigrette which was dynamite.  You can serve your favorite salad and dressing, or anything else that might taste good in a bacon bowl.

We decided to portion the salad mix onto seperate serving dishes and then add the dressing. Next we broke the bacon bowl into 4 pieces to top the salad.  That way the dressing did not run out or cause soggy bacon issues while waiting to be served.  The bacon was crunchy, sweet and complimented our salad perfectly.

I believe this recipe would also work to make individual bacon bowls, just cut the bacon into smaller pieces before weaving.

We hope you enjoy it!

We hope you enjoy it as much as we did.  Try Roast Pumpkin with Cheese “Fondue”to serve with the salad.

Thank you for reading my blog.

Brad