My First Try at Pig Candy (heavy pron)

[tish]

When I saw cmcadams' pig candy pron the other day, I just knew I had to make it for my son, Michael, when he came home on leave from Ft. Bragg. Wasn't sure if I was doing it right, but it came out very well, so I guess I didn't screw it up too badly.
Not sure why, but all the photos didn't show in this thread, but if you click on the links, they'll take you directly to each of the photos.

Here's the step-by-step:

I gathered all the ingredients. I used a dozen slices of thick cut hickory smoked bacon, 2 egg whites, 1/4 tsp cream of tartar, 1/3 cup brown sugar, cayenne pepper to taste.



I separated the egg whites into the bowl while they were cold, and then let them sit until they were room temperature. Then I whipped them on low speed with a hand mixer.

http://i1217.photobucket.com/albums/.../eggwhites.jpg

When the egg whites were getting pretty thick, I put in the cream of tartar to help in forming stiff peaks because, supposedly, you should use a copper or stainless steel bowl for this. I don't have a copper one, and was too lazy to fight my way through a pack of papillons on the lower level where my stainless steel bowls are stored, so I used a crockery bowl and the cream of tartar instead. Then I added the brown sugar, a little at a time. I sprinkled some cayenne pepper in, but I really couldn't tell you how much because it wasn't a measured amount. I just kind of eye'd it, knowing my son (affectionately referred to as "old asbestos mouth") would like it pretty hot.



I finished whipping at high speed, until I started getting stiff peaks to form, or as stiff as they were gonna get in something other that a copper bowl.

http://i1217.photobucket.com/albums/...stiffpeaks.jpg

I started taking strips of the thick cut bacon and dredging them through the egg whites. Oh, what a mess! lol My son and I had a little egg white fight. Do not try this at home!

http://i1217.photobucket.com/albums/...dgingbacon.jpg

I laid out all the dredged bacon strips on an aluminum foil covered cookie sheet. I had to smush them a little to make the whole thing fit, but it didn't seem to harm the finished product at all. I sprinkled more brown sugar on the sheeted bacon strips with my fingers. Next time, I would probably sprinkle some more cayenne pepper on at this point, too. As much as I put in the egg white mixture, it still wasn't hot enough for you-know-who!

http://i1217.photobucket.com/albums/...ndysheeted.jpg

I put them in a 300* oven for quite some time. Not sure how long it was, because right in the middle of it, Santa Brethren stopped in at our house again. (That's another post.) I lost track of the time, but I just kept checking it until the strips starting to get nice and crispy looking. Then I flipped them over, and just brushed the remaining egg white on the other side, and it was just enough to cover the whole thing. Two extra-large egg whites did the 12 strips perfectly for me. Sprinkled more brown sugar on the 2nd side, and back in the oven again for maybe another 10 minutes. Here's the finished product.

http://i1217.photobucket.com/albums/...otpigcandy.jpg

And here's one very happy paratrooper, who just lives for bacon, eating an entire plate of pig candy all by himself. Yes... that is him smiling. lol What can I say. The kid is the incredibly serious type. Believe me... he was happy! Oh, and BTW... I know he looks too young to be in the Army, but he is. He's already served one tour in Afghanistan, and will be returning in February for round #2.

http://i1217.photobucket.com/albums/...eypigcandy.jpg

So, not sure if that was the right way to do it or not, but there were no leftovers, and the kid seemed to enjoy it. Hope I did you proud, Curt! Thanks for the great idea!!

[VoodoChild]

Looks awesome ....Good work
Tell your Son " Thank you " for his service that allows me to think about BBq while he is Thinking about staying alive.. hes appreciated more than hell Know ..Again Thank You !

[tish]

Thanks, VC! Yeah, he did some fancy dancing at his fob (forward operating base) when they were attacked one night last year. He got shot at, grenaded, mortared, and had his bunk blown to smithereens. There were 28 wounded and 4 dead. I almost didn't get him back. I'm not looking forward to his going again. He's up for a promotion to sergeant, God help me. My son is the apple of my eye. He's the only reason my sun rises in the morning, and the only reason it sets again at night. Have I mentioned I'm crazy about my kid? lol

[BBQ Bandit]

Looks go-jus, Tish.

Never would have considered taking Pig candy in that direction.
Props to Curt!

Thanks for your son's service!

[tish]

Thanks, Bob! Well, he seemed to enjoy the pig candy, followed by some Q'd brisket that was out of this world! Truth be told, that's the first time the boy has ever had brisket. Now he's looking at me like, 'when you gonna start making brisket, ma?' lol Gotta tell the boy, that might take a little while yet!

[Boshizzle]

That says it all, right there!

[tish]

Thanks, Boshizzle! Yeah, that's the face I was hoping for. He doesn't get excited by much, but pig candy... he was guarding his plate!

[gtr]

Gettin all fancy with the egg whites first time out! I have yet to try that. I usually glaze with a maple syrup/whatever hot pepper mixture towards the end of cooking 'em - been dredging them through brown sugar and HDD, (or cayenne, chipotle or whatever seems right at the moment).

Thanks to your son for his service and thanks to you & your family for being there for him!

[Hoss]

GEAT POST! God Bless you ALL! Thanks to him for the service and you for being a REAL mom! Godspeed to you both!!!

[tish]

Originally Posted by gtr

Gettin all fancy with the egg whites first time out! I have yet to try that. I usually glaze with a maple syrup/whatever hot pepper mixture towards the end of cooking 'em - been dredging them through brown sugar and HDD, (or cayenne, chipotle or whatever seems right at the moment).

Thanks to your son for his service and thanks to you & your family for being there for him!

To tell the truth, I'm so freakin' green here, I didn't really know what the old method was. I just saw Curt's post, and knew it wasn't the way it had been done before, but it looked good, so I tried it. Definitely have to put in more heat for the kid, though.

I'll give Michael your thanks, but really, being here for him is what I do best. That boy has never given me a moment's trouble his whole life, so it's the very least I can do for him.

[tish]

Originally Posted by Hoss

GEAT POST! God Bless you ALL! Thanks to him for the service and you for being a REAL mom! Godspeed to you both!!!

Thank you, Hoss! You will never know just how much that means to me.

[Phrasty]

Originally Posted by tish

When I saw cmcadams' pig candy pron the other day, I just knew I had to make it for my son, Michael, when he came home on leave from Ft. Bragg. Wasn't sure if I was doing it right, but it came out very well, so I guess I didn't screw it up too badly.
Not sure why, but all the photos didn't show in this thread, but if you click on the links, they'll take you directly to each of the photos.

Here's the step-by-step:

I gathered all the ingredients. I used a dozen slices of thick cut hickory smoked bacon, 2 egg whites, 1/4 tsp cream of tartar, 1/3 cup brown sugar, cayenne pepper to taste.



I separated the egg whites into the bowl while they were cold, and then let them sit until they were room temperature. Then I whipped them on low speed with a hand mixer.



When the egg whites were getting pretty thick, I put in the cream of tartar to help in forming stiff peaks because, supposedly, you should use a copper or stainless steel bowl for this. I don't have a copper one, and was too lazy to fight my way through a pack of papillons on the lower level where my stainless steel bowls are stored, so I used a crockery bowl and the cream of tartar instead. Then I added the brown sugar, a little at a time. I sprinkled some cayenne pepper in, but I really couldn't tell you how much because it wasn't a measured amount. I just kind of eye'd it, knowing my son (affectionately referred to as "old asbestos mouth") would like it pretty hot.



I finished whipping at high speed, until I started getting stiff peaks to form, or as stiff as they were gonna get in something other that a copper bowl.



I started taking strips of the thick cut bacon and dredging them through the egg whites. Oh, what a mess! lol My son and I had a little egg white fight. Do not try this at home!



I laid out all the dredged bacon strips on an aluminum foil covered cookie sheet. I had to smush them a little to make the whole thing fit, but it didn't seem to harm the finished product at all. I sprinkled more brown sugar on the sheeted bacon strips with my fingers. Next time, I would probably sprinkle some more cayenne pepper on at this point, too. As much as I put in the egg white mixture, it still wasn't hot enough for you-know-who!



I put them in a 300* oven for quite some time. Not sure how long it was, because right in the middle of it, Santa Brethren stopped in at our house again. (That's another post.) I lost track of the time, but I just kept checking it until the strips starting to get nice and crispy looking. Then I flipped them over, and just brushed the remaining egg white on the other side, and it was just enough to cover the whole thing. Two extra-large egg whites did the 12 strips perfectly for me. Sprinkled more brown sugar on the 2nd side, and back in the oven again for maybe another 10 minutes. Here's the finished product.



And here's one very happy paratrooper, who just lives for bacon, eating an entire plate of pig candy all by himself. Yes... that is him smiling. lol What can I say. The kid is the incredibly serious type. Believe me... he was happy! Oh, and BTW... I know he looks too young to be in the Army, but he is. He's already served one tour in Afghanistan, and will be returning in February for round #2.



So, not sure if that was the right way to do it or not, but there were no leftovers, and the kid seemed to enjoy it. Hope I did you proud, Curt! Thanks for the great idea!!

Fixed the images for you... Have to make sure you paste the link with the image insertion link (make sure it's "[IMG]" instead of [URL]

It all looks awesome Tish!

Cheers

[stubshaft]

Looks great and prolly tastes even better. I usually just sprinkle HDD and brown sugar on the bacon, so I gotta try and incorporate the egg whites into it.

[Militant83]

Looks good

[DaChief]

Outstanding...now you are hooked. It's very addictive!!