Embark on a culinary journey to discover the art of crafting perfect bacon croutons, crispy and flavorful additions that elevate your salads, soups, and casseroles to new heights. Learn the secrets of transforming simple ingredients into golden-brown croutons, infusing them with smoky bacon goodness. Whether you prefer classic white, hearty whole wheat, or herb-infused bread, this guide will provide you with step-by-step instructions, helpful tips, and variations to cater to your unique taste preferences and dietary restrictions. Get ready to create delectable croutons that add a delightful crunch and savory flavor to every bite!
Here are our top 7 tried and tested recipes!
MAPLE SAGE BACON-WRAPPED TURKEY BREAST WITH STUFFING CROUTONS
Provided by Katie Lee Biegel
Categories main-dish
Time 3h
Yield 4 to 6 servings
Number Of Ingredients 11
Steps:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Spray the parchment paper with cooking spray. Shingle the bacon strips side-by-side on the parchment paper, allowing the edges to overlap slightly. Refrigerate until ready to use.
- Butter each side of the bread slices, using 2 tablespoons butter in total. Place the bread in a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Set aside.
- Mix the remaining 4 tablespoons butter with the sage, maple syrup, salt, garlic powder, onion powder and pepper in a bowl. Use your fingers, and a knife, if necessary, to make a pocket between the meat and the skin of the turkey. Rub the butter under the skin in an even layer. Place the sheet pan with the bacon on a work surface, then lay the turkey skin-side down on the bacon. Wrap the bacon around the turkey by lifting the parchment and pressing the bacon against it to secure. Place the turkey skin-side up on top of the bread and lift away the parchment.
- Roast until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F, 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Let rest for 30 minutes before slicing. Quarter the stuffing croutons before serving. Serve warm.
GREEN TOMATO SOUP WITH BACON AND BRIOCHE CROUTONS
Provided by Melissa Clark
Categories dinner, lunch, soups and stews, appetizer, main course
Time 1h
Yield 6 servings
Number Of Ingredients 13
Steps:
- Melt butter in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent, about 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, lightly crush the coriander, either with a mortar and pestle or side of a knife. Add it to pot along with garlic and sauté for 3 minutes longer.
- Stir in tomatoes, stock, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil; immediately reduce heat to medium-low and simmer soup until tomatoes have fallen apart, about 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, fry bacon in a skillet until crisp. Use a slotted spoon to transfer bacon to a paper-towel-lined plate. Return skillet to medium heat. Add brioche to bacon fat in pan and toss to coat well. Toast, tossing occasionally, until croutons are golden, about 5 minutes. Set aside.
- Using an immersion blender (or puréeing in batches in a regular blender), purée soup until smooth.
- Return soup to medium heat and stir in crème fraîche if desired, dill and honey. Cook until heated through, 1 to 2 minutes. Taste and add more salt or honey or both if desired. Ladle soup into individual serving bowls; crumble bacon over top and garnish with croutons.
Nutrition Facts : @context http, Calories 293, UnsaturatedFat 8 grams, Carbohydrate 28 grams, Fat 18 grams, Fiber 4 grams, Protein 9 grams, SaturatedFat 8 grams, Sodium 716 milligrams, Sugar 15 grams, TransFat 0 grams
BACON-BRIOCHE CROUTONS
I like to garnish soup with croutons-it's a classic combo for a reason. Brioche is a good choice for making croutons because it's so buttery, and the bacon lends a hint of smoky, savory flavor.
Provided by Naomi Pomeroy
Categories Soup/Stew Celery Bacon Bread
Yield Makes about 2 cups croutons
Number Of Ingredients 5
Steps:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Place the brioche in a mixing bowl. In a cast-iron skillet or other heavy ovenproof skillet, cook the bacon over medium-low heat for about 3 minutes, until most of the fat has rendered but the bacon hasn't gotten too brown or crispy. Turn off the heat, add the butter to the pan, and swirl the pan until the butter is fully melted. Pour the bacon with the fat into the mixing bowl with the brioche, sprinkle with the salt and pepper, and toss to coat evenly. Spread the croutons across a baking sheet.
- Bake the croutons, stirring every 2 to 3 minutes, until golden brown, 8 to 10 minutes. (Note that brioche will toast up a slightly darker color than some other types of bread because of its sugar and egg content.) The croutons can be made up to 2 hours in advance and rewarmed in the oven just before serving.
CRISPY SKATE WITH CAULIFLOWER, BACON, CAPERS, AND CROUTONS
Categories Fruit Juice Fish Pork Vegetable Sauté Lemon Bacon Cauliflower Fall Tarragon Thyme Capers Bon Appétit
Yield Makes 2 servings
Number Of Ingredients 15
Steps:
- For cauliflower:
- Sauté bacon in heavy large skillet over medium heat until brown and crisp. Using slotted spoon, transfer bacon to paper towels to drain. Add cauliflower to drippings in skillet and sauté until crisp-tender and beginning to brown, about 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, lemon juice, capers, and thyme; simmer 1 minute to blend flavors. Remove from heat.
- For skate:
- Whisk rice flour, Cream of Wheat, and herbs in large shallow bowl to blend. Sprinkle fish with salt and pepper. Coat fish on both sides with flour mixture. Heat oil in another heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add fish. Sauté until brown and just opaque in center, about 3 minutes per side.
- Rewarm cauliflower mixture over medium heat. Mix in bacon and croutons. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Spoon cauliflower mixture into center of 2 plates; top with fish.
- *Available at some supermarkets, specialty foods stores, and natural foods stores.
SPINACH SALAD WITH GORGONZOLA CROUTONS AND BACON TWISTS
This came from the 2004 edition of The Gourmet Cookbook, edited by Ruth Reichl. I microwaved the bacon twists, but I'll provide the recipe as written in the book. The dressing for this was so good my daughter wanted to scrape the blender pitcher. As I typed this in I realized I misread it when I made it and used 2 tablespoons of honey rather than teaspoons. The additional honey certainly did no harm! Preparation time does not include hard-boiling the eggs.
Provided by Sonata
Categories Spinach
Time 45m
Yield 4 serving(s)
Number Of Ingredients 13
Steps:
- Put racks in upper and lower thirds of oven and preheat oven to 375°F.
- Twist each bacon slice into a tight spiral and arrange twists on rack of broiler pan, pressing ends onto pan(twists will unravel somewhat as they bake).
- Bake in upper third of oven until crisp, about 30 minutes. Transfer to paper towels to drain.
- Meanwhile, mash together Gorgonzola and butter in a shallow bowl with a fork. Spread generously on bread slices.
- Cut slices into 1-inch squares and arrange on a baking sheet.
- After bacon has cooked for 15 minutes, put croutons in lower third of oven. Bake until golden and crisp, about 15 minutes.
- While croutons bake, using a large heavy knife, mince and mash garlic to a paste with salt.
- Combine mayonnaise, oil, vinegar, honey, and garlic paste in a blender and blend until smooth.
- Toss together spinach, warm croutons, and onion in a servng bowl and toss with dressing. Top with bacon twists and eggs.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 639.2, Fat 42.4, SaturatedFat 13.2, Cholesterol 154.6, Sodium 1402.3, Carbohydrate 46.5, Fiber 4.7, Sugar 5.5, Protein 19.5
WARM MUSHROOM SALAD WITH BACON, SOURDOUGH CROUTONS & PICKLED-MUSHROOM VINAIGRETTE RECIPE - (4/5)
Provided by ltrodrigu
Number Of Ingredients 19
Steps:
- Make Pickled Mushrooms: Place mushrooms in a small heatproof bowl. Place remaining ingredients in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring once or twice, until sugar and salt dissolve. Strain hot pickling liquid over mushrooms. Reserve 1 tablespoon pickling liquid for vinaigrette and discard peppercorns, rosemary and garlic. Cover mushrooms with plastic wrap. Make Vinaigrette: In a small bowl, whisk together 1 tablespoon mushroom pickling liquid, oil, garlic, and salt and pepper to taste until emulsified. Set aside. Heat a 10-inch skillet over medium heat. Cook bacon until crisp and most of fat has rendered out. Add sourdough pieces to pan. Cook, stirring occasionally and adding a little olive oil if pan seems dry, until bread begins to get crisp and golden, 7-10 minutes. Transfer bread and bacon to a bowl. Increase heat to medium-high. Cook mushrooms in skillet, stirring frequently, until slightly browned, about 6 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and turn off heat. Compose Salad: Drain pickled mushrooms. In a large bowl, combine greens, warm mushrooms, drained pickled mushrooms, croutons and bacon. Drizzle vinaigrette to taste, tossing to coat. Adjust seasoning as needed. Garnish with radishes and fennel fronds, if using. Serve while mushrooms are still warm.
SPINACH SALAD WITH BACON AND CROUTONS
Want to make your own simple croutons? You know you do. Ordinary sliced bread is torn into pieces and roasted with bacon to make easy croutons. Then the salad is dressed with a creamy buttermilk dressing. From "Real Simple" magazine. You will have leftover dressing for another use.
Provided by threeovens
Categories Spinach
Time 20m
Yield 4 serving(s)
Number Of Ingredients 11
Steps:
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F; toss bacon pieces with bread pieces on a rimmed baking sheet and season with salt and pepper.
- Bake until bacon is crisp, about 10 to 12 minutes; let cool.
- In a serving bowl, toss spinach, cucumber, bacon and croutons.
- Whisk together dressing ingredients OR place in a lidded glass jar and shake to combine.
- Drizzle salad with 6 tablespoons of dressing and toss well.
Tips:
- Choose the right bread: Stale or slightly toasted bread works best for croutons, as it will hold its shape better when toasted.
- Cut the bread into uniform cubes: This will help them toast evenly.
- Add flavorings before toasting: You can add herbs, spices, cheese, or other seasonings to the croutons before baking them.
- Toast the croutons until they are golden brown: This will give them a crispy texture and help them to develop flavor.
- Store the croutons in an airtight container: This will help them to stay fresh and crispy.
Conclusion:
Bacon croutons are a delicious and versatile addition to many dishes. They can be used in salads, soups, casseroles, and more. With a few simple ingredients and a little bit of time, you can easily make your own bacon croutons at home. So next time you're looking for a way to add a little extra flavor and texture to your meal, give bacon croutons a try!
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