Bacon Butter
I’m finally clawing my way out of the turkey coma and blogging about my Thanksgiving. We’ve been unusually busy the past few weeks with weddings. Last weekend, we photographed a wedding in Miami Saturday night and then hopped on a plane four hours later at 6:00 the next morning to shoot another one in Cape May, New Jersey. Returned home late Monday night, and started Thanksgiving cooking on Tuesday. Needless to say… I’m still catching up on my sleep!
As I was flipping through my plethora of cooking magazines, I came across a recipe that piqued my interest. It was for a turkey flavored with Bacon Butter. Yes, you heard me right. That’s bacon and butter, thrown in the food processor and pureed. Seriously… its so wrong, it’s right. The original recipe called for mustard, but I omitted it and added fresh herbs instead. I did my usual brine, but instead of boring old butter under the skin, I made the bacon butter and schmeared it between the skin and meat. My arm still hurts from repeatedly patting myself on the back. This was the best tasting turkey I’ve ever made. The flavors of the bacon and herbs infused the meat and also made it oh so juicy.
You can find most recipes here, from last year’s post. I tend to make the same recipes every year, with one or two new ones. The bacon butter is a new addition that I’m pretty sure I”ll be making again! Check out some pics of our Thanksgiving spread. As usual I have to thank Stephan for documenting the whole cooking process.
Brussels Sprouts getting ready to be grilled
Veggies on the Grill
Apple Strip
Cornbread
Turkey in the oven
Utter Chaos… wouldn’t want it any other way!
Bacon Butter Recipe
1 stick (4 oz) unsalted butter, softened
4 strips bacon, chopped
6 leaves fresh sage
1 tbsp thyme leaves
1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper
1. Combine all ingredients in food processor and process until smooth. Scrape onto a piece of plastic wrap and shape into a log. Refrigerate for several hours, up to several days.
2. After brining turkey (find recipe here), rinse and place in roasting pan. Dry as best as you can with paper towels. Slice the butter into 1/4 inch rounds. Run hands between skin and meat to separate and place the slices of bacon butter under the skin. Let sit for a few minutes until the butter softenes a little and massage to spread the butter around. Bake as in the original recipe.
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SO MUCH DELICIOUSNESS!! I’m all over the brussels sprouts (ALL the vegetables, really), and the desserts :-)
That sounds amazing! Glad it all worked out. Now, how about that cornbread recipe?
it all looks so amazing!!
You’re right it’s so wrong it’s right. Butter and bacon are two of the greatest things ever.
Wow… bacon butter… I think I’m in love. Can’t wait to roast a chicken with that!
oh this is right up my alley…i’m making another turkey in the coming week and i am going to shamelessly steal this recipe.
ok, if that last pic of your pristine kitchen is your idea of “chaos” we’ll have to invent a new word for what happens in my hovel — where are the gravy splatters? the egg shells and spilled sugar? the cranberry stains? why aren’t there rivulets of sweat streaming down everybody’s faces? somehow this pic doesn’t seem quite bacon-grease-smeared enough. but thanks for the recipe, it sounds yummy.
LOL Gail! This photo was taken early in the morning… but I’m also totally OCD about keeping the kitchen clean as I cook… thankfully my sister in law (the fabulous helper in the photo) doubled as a dishwasher!
@ Jackie… recipe for cornbread here: http://www.ishotthechef.com/2007/11/24/gobble-gobble/
Brilliant! I’m going to roast some chicken with the BB this week! AWESOME idea!
Melissa is the best dishwasher EVER! I can’t believe there aren’t any begging puppies in that photo? Usually Oscar won’t leave the kitchen if there’s meat a-cookin’!
Dumb question… The bacon is raw when combined w/ the butter, right?
@Blind Mind… valid question! Yes, it is raw.
HELP!
Im knee deep in bacon butter and I cant think of anything to make with it! So far I made a grilled cheese w/ bacon and cooked it in the bacon butter on the grill. I kinda love bacon and this was awesome. I have a nice sized stick left and need more options!
Hmmm… how about a facial moisturizer? :P I think you could put bacon butter on any type of meat before cooking it. It would be especially good on chicken… under the skin like on the turkey. Also, you can freeze the leftovers and use it later!
BTW… Bacon Butter Grilled cheese? Sweet Jesus, I MUST try that!
yeah, I buttered the bread and Foremenized the sandwich. I can get extreme with my bacon intake. Like the time my 2 cousins and I got hammered and ate a pound of bacon at 3am and fought over the last 2 pieces.
[...] Thanksgiving for obvious reasons. This time when prepping the turkey, I put an entire stick of bacon butter under the skin! (Look for the recipe at the end of that linked post…I used salted butter [...]
[...] simple but this looks great. Bacon + butter = bacon butter. Share this [...]