Pecan brown sugar and bacon ice cream from the cookbook Seduced by Bacon
Is pork the candy of meats? These days it certainly seems so. Not only is the sheer variety of pig-based dishes astounding, but the swine have even begun to move out from main courses and into desserts and beverages:
Candy, Candy, Candy: The candy of meats, you scoff? Well, some restaurants actually make candy out of pork. Really! To wit, some customers at Elizabeth's in New Orleans are so enamored of the restaurant's sweet and savory praline bacon that they affectionately call it "crack bacon." And the regulars at Lou in Hollywood have similar feelings about that restaurant's house bacon, called pig candy, which is baked in an oven with brown sugar until crispy and sweet.
And then, of course, there are always actual bacon candy bars.
Pork Ice Cream, You Scream: Though odd-ball ice creams are popular on TV shows like Iron Chef, they're a bit harder to come by in the real world. And though there are some exceptions (like the one from the Bacon Brunch in the above photo), a great bacon ice cream is hard to imagine. But if you're in Barcelona, Spain, you don't need to. Just head to dessert specialist Espai Sucre and indulge in a bread pudding, bacon ice cream and pineapple concoction that has to be tasted to be believed.
Or you can fly to Bray, England, to sample the molecular gastronomy at Heston Blumenthal's The Fat Duck. The tasting menu there includes “nitro-scrambled egg and bacon ice cream” served with a sweet and slightly sour tomato and red pepper jam, caramelized french toast, salted butter caramel and a glass of tea jelly.
Drinking the Pig: Ice cream is one thing, but what about a drink? Well, if you want one with swine in it, you can mosey over to Double Down Saloon (in New York or Las Vegas) for the joint's signature bacon martini shaken with homemade bacon-infused vodka.
Looking for more bacon-based confections? Examples of bacon-based treats abound, including chocolate-covered salo (pork fat) in the Ukraine, bacon cotton candy in South Carolina and much more.