June 29, 2010

Peanut Butter & Bacon Truffles

My friend Susie recently twittered, "Bittersweet and bacon truffle--not good. Sorry @barbaricgulp but apparently bacon & chocolate do not go together." Now, I feel it's my duty to show Susie the error of her ways...and prove her wrong, of course.

My love of all things porcine is no secret to my closest friends and casual acquaintances. Kelli bought me a bacon scarf for my birthday last fall. Stephanie (the "other" Steph) will often forward me links to things like bacon air-freshener, bacon bandaids, & bacon jelly beans. She even sent me a Patron Saint of Bacon figurine.



We like pork so much around here that we currently have a PIG HEAD in the refrigerator, with plans to make roasted cheeks & crispy fried ears. We even had peanut butter & bacon truffles at our pig roast reception in early April. 

The truffles were a BIG HIT. They were devoured so quickly, in fact, that our photographer didn't even have a chance to take a picture of them. And, I only got ONE to eat. Many people gushed about how good the truffles were & several asked for the recipe that day. 

Since I can vouch for the deliciousness--and pure genius--of the bacon & chocolate combination, I'm challenging Susie to make these truffles at home & see for herself. And then admit defeat.

 Peanut Butter & Bacon Truffles
from Chef Kirk Warner of Kirk's Traveling Kitchen

Makes 20-25 truffles

5 strips of bacon, cooked until very crisp, then well-drained
1/2 cup dry roasted, salted peanuts           
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon sugar                      
1/4 cup smooth peanut butter
8 ounces dark chocolate, chopped
1/4 cup sweetened cocoa powder
  • In a food processor fit with metal blade, pulse bacon, peanuts and sugar until they’re ground and a medium-fine texture. 
  • Combine with peanut butter, cover & chill until firm, 1-2 hours. 
  • Using a double-boiler, melt chopped chocolate. When chocolate melted, remove from the heat and sift in cocoa, stirring constantly. 
  • Use truffle scoop to make balls with peanut mixture. Dip them into chocolate & transfer to a parchment-lined sheet tray. Chill until the chocolate hardens. Serve at room temperature.
  • Truffles will keep at room temperature for 2 days, in the refrigerator for 1 week, or in the freezer for up to a month. 

9 comments:

KBO said...

Who did you get a pig head from that wasn't me? I wanna get rid of these things.

Also, you are a blogging machine lately. Good on you.

Kelly @ Barbaric Gulp! said...

KBO,

Jerad brought the head home from Kitchen Conservatory. There was a whole hog class going on during our last sushi class. They didn't use the head; he wanted it.

You really should contact Mark S. about taking your heads.

(This is by far the strangest sounding thing I've ever typed.)

JezmundtheFamilyBezerker said...

This sounds delicious. Any suggestions on what kind (brand) of peanut butter to use? I'm thinking because the real organic stuff is not as creamy as the HFCS types, that the HFCS types might in fact be the best for the job. Thoughts?

JezmundtheFamilyBezerker said...

This sounds delicious. Have any rec's for what brand of peanut butter to use? I'm thinking organic types might not work as well (not as creamy) as the HFCS globs from the likes of Peter Pan and Jiff...Thoughts?

Chef Dennis Littley said...

I recently had a chocolate dipped maple bacon.....wow...those truffles sound incredible!

Kelly @ Barbaric Gulp! said...

Most likely, "regular" peanut butter (Jiff or Peter Pan) was used in these. I think the "natural" kinds are too oily for the truffles.

freerangegirl said...

I wasnt convinced about bacon and syrup to be honest until we visited the states - now my family are hooked - chocolate dipped maple bacon sounds amazing!

Kooky Cookie Girl said...

That's quite funny, I love the bacon thing. My nine year old daughter loves all things porcine, well I say that, that's not true really it's just bacon eg not ham. I can't even remember the last time we ate pork but I must get her to taste that. Maybe she will like that too ! She hates all other meat, so maybe she's just into her porky food... TTFN

Kooky Cookie girl said...

i love the bacon thing, my nine year old is a bacon addict too but oddly will not eat ham, does not like chicken or lamb, but loves the bacon. I will tell her about your bacon items she will find it funny. TTFN