Benton's-Inspired Bacon-Washed Bloody Mary
Before entering culinary school, I remember being absolutely fascinated by AllenBenton in Tennessee who makes some incredibly smoky bacon, thick-cut--obviously. It was one of the more smoky bacons I had ever encountered—he alsomakes smoked country ham which is delicious, and very smoky and salty.I would order the bacon in vacuum-sealed one-pound packages, and it would comeshipped to you. I ordered maybe ten pounds at a time, and it would last for a fewmonths in the fridge with no problems. It was a culinary revelation, in terms ofmentally connecting better ingredients to better finished dishes. At the time, I wasusing this product primarily for beans, and bean-related dishes. I’m still obsessedwith beans.The same principle with relying on high-quality ingredients applies to cocktails.Enter: the Benton’s Bacon-Washed Bloody Mary.
Ingredients
- 2 slices Benton’s bacon (thick-cut)
- 2.5 oz vodka
- 6 oz Bloody Mary mix of choice
- 3 dashes Tabasco hot sauce
- 3 dashes Angostura bitters
- 3 dashes Worcestershire sauce
- A dash of celery salt
- Juice from ¼ fresh lemon
- 2 pitted olives (on a toothpick with a fresh lemon slice)
Instructions
- Cook the bacon until crispy in a pan, set the bacon aside to drain on paper towels, and reserve the extra bacon fat.
- Add the bacon fat to a shaker tin with the vodka, Bloody Mary mix, Tabasco,
- Angostura bitters, Worcestershire sauce, celery salt, and lemon juice.
- Dry shake the mixture for thirty seconds, or until well-mixed.
- Pour the contents into a pint glass filled with ice, and serve with a garnish of two pitted olives on a toothpick with a lemon slice, along with the two slices of cooked crispy bacon inserted into the drink.