Bacon Ice Cream => Appetizer

As promised I've completed the testing for my Scallops & Bacon appetizer.  Again, this dish has been designed to complement an array of high end bourbons & whiskeys.  I actually started conceptualizing this dish in anticipation of a new promotion that my General Manager is working on...He's going to call it "Bubbles & Bourbon" and will feature bourbons, whiskeys & sparkling wines.  I figured we (the kitchen crew) could put together appetizers each week that would complement or contrast the two.  This promotion is not entirely ready (Joel, my GM, is still putting together the material and working on the packaging) but that's not gonna stop us from preparing and testing our ideas.  So here's the rundown...

The Finished Dish:

Seared Georges Bank Scallop & Applewood Bacon Ice Cream

shaved celery, spice roasted green apple, hedgehog mushroom & orange-chipotle gastrique



The Ice Cream:  As a stand alone item the ice cream is very weird...that's probably the best way I can describe it.  I wasn't sure if I hated it or I loved it.  I could not decide but I also could not stop tasting it.  The final product was technically sound...excellent texture, sweet to salty ratio was on the money and it did carry the taste of bacon without being overbearing which was a major concern of mine in creating the recipe.  The one thing that I may do differently in the future is to double the weight of bacon in the initial cream infusion in order to coax more bacon flavor into the ice cream and then I would not garnish the ice cream with "bacon bits".  The chew of the bacon once the ice cream has melted on the palate is awkward as a stand alone product.  However; that chew of the bacon garnish did work well in the finished dish. 

The accompaniments on the plate (the shaved celery salad, mushrooms & roasted apples) were chosen as they all work well together and serve to complement both the scallop/bacon flavors and the excellent nuances of many artisanal bourbons & whiskeys.  When pairing to a bourbon I look to draw on the smokey, oaky, earthy tones as well as some of the underlying fruit notes.  The key is that the dish needs to have enough body to stand up to a bourbon.



The orange-chipotle gastrique really tied the dish together, it had excellent acidity which mellowed the ice creams sweetness and allowed the bacon flavor of the ice cream to shine and thus scallop and bacon were the primary flavors on the plate (as intended).

We did document the process of making the gastrique with photos.  I'll put this together and post it soon.





This dish was a success, and we may be using it soon with the upcoming "bubbles & bourbon" events.  Next week I'll likely work on a "bubbles" pairing.