Cooking Lesson #21— The Tale of Two Bacons

How you doin’? We have had lots strange days lately. One way to change a ho-hum day is a rasher of bacon. Bacon makes a day very special—even McDonald’s has bacon sales, where you can put slices on anything—as an extra—for just a few extra pennies. When it comes to bacon, there is only one brand that rises to the level of “gourmet”—Benton Bacon.
 
Allan Benton is his name and bacon is his game. He is known as the “pig whisper,” “bacon god” and the “ham hero.” He is the darling of high-end restaurant chefs in New York, Boston, Charleston, Chicago, Minneapolis, San Francisco and Los Angeles. His country hams can be found in Momofuku Noodle Bar's ramen bowls in New York City and his bacon is ground into the patties of Husk's legendary cheeseburgers in Charleston. It’s safe to say, Allan Benton’s phone number is on the speed dial of many of this country’s celebrity chefs. If you want to try the “real stuff” check Benton out at https://bentonscountryhams2.com/about.html.
 
Now let’s talk about another bacon maven--Tabitha Brown. I’m not sure she has ever seen a live pig or worked in a smoke house, but she does know her way around a kitchen.
 
Tabitha is a wife, cook, mother, actress and fashion designer from Eden, North Carolina. She also claims to be the inventor of Carrot Bacon—a simple substitute for the real fatty, piggy stuff—and it’s damn good. She has about 12.5 million followers on social media. Many swear they can’t tell the difference between the real stuff and Carrot Bacon.
 
So, now it is a far, far better thing I do, than I have ever done—here’s how to make a healthier, vegan Carrot Bacon.
 
Ingredients
1 large, thick carrot (the big honking ones)
1 teaspoon liquid smoke, Wright’s
1/2 cup real maple syrup (do not use “pancake” syrup… real maple only)
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon sweet paprika
 
Directions

1. Blend all the ingredients together and gently heat in a saucepan.
2. While the maple syrup and spices are heating, peel the carrot.
3. Then, using your vegetable peeler, shave the carrot into long thin strips. It will kind of look like bacon slices.
4. Soak the carrot strips in the maple syrup mixture for about 10 minutes.
5. Using an air fryer*, cook the carrot strip at 380⁰F for 5 minutes
6. Serve immediately for bacony-flavored, crisp breakfast strips.

ChefSecret: If you don’t have an air fryer, try cooking it on a rack in a 350°F oven for about 10 minutes. You might have to experiment a little with time and temperature.

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