The Butcher the Baker

Among the surreal confections on display in the classic film Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory is an unassuming piece of chewing gum that turns out to offer the chewer an entire meal's worth of flavors, complete with Sisyphian side effect.

In this spirit I offer you The Confexecutioner's Baconfections. Breakfast to Dessert in the flash of a pan.

This can be made as a solid piece of  brittle, or Confexecution style in mini-muffin cups.

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Cook about 8 strips of quality thick cut bacon until crispy. Drain, cool, and crumble.

In a thick saucepan, toss bacon with about 1/3 cup pure maple syrup, or enough to coat. Bring mixture to boil, then reduce heat and cook until sticky.

While mixture is still warm, spoon into muffin cups or spread evenly on waxed paper.

Melt about 4 oz of 70% baking chocolate in a double boiler. If you want a softer texture to the chocolate, add a splash of heavy cream. If the chocolate "seizes", add more cream. I don't know why this works, but it does. 

When chocolate is completely melted and has a glossy finish, pour carefully over the bacon "brittle" to cover it completely, if possible. Let cool, then refrigerate until set. If set to you means  shoving freshly cooked bacon brittle with melted chocolate down your impatient gullet, then so be it.

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The finished product has absolutely no shelf life, so eat or share within the time it takes to remember which of your friends can eat bacon without spontaneously combusting. For the others, the Hash-Brown version is in pre-production. Feel free to help me come up with a clever name.

Enjoy if you dare. Caveat Chocolatier.