Smoky Bacon

Name: Smoky Bacon
Yield: makes 6 tacos
Ingredients: 12 ounces thick-sliced smoked bacon; 1/2 small white onion, cut into 1/4-inch dice; 2 tablespoons honey; 1 tablespoon pure red chile powder (such as Los Chileros); 1/2 teaspoon chipotle chile powder; Kosher salt; 6 (5 1/2-inch) crispy yellow corn tortilla shells (page 17), for serving; Garnish: Tomato slices and shredded radish

January 26, 2012

Bacon has become a culinary star again, and there are now so many flavors of bacon and ways to enjoy it—traditional smoked bacon, jalapeño bacon, turkey bacon, bacon candy, bacon salt, bacon cocktails, and—the most unusual—bacon ice cream! There are even bacon clubs that deliver different kinds to your door every month. It’s the bacon that gives these tacos their flavor. My preference is a natural, nitrate-free, applewood or hickory-smoked bacon that I buy as a slab, rather than presliced, so I can cut strips as I prefer them, about three-eighths inch thick. Most grocery stores and butcher shops sell thick-cut bacon. Also available is center-cut bacon, which is leaner with a higher yield of meat, much like very lean Canadian bacon (which is actually cured pork loin), in extra-thick slices. Wild boar bacon (see Sources, page 167) is particularly tasty for this recipe.

Recipe notes

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