Chocolate-covered bacon

{{Infobox prepared food

| name = Chocolate-covered bacon

| image = ChocolateCoveredBaconStick.jpg

| image_size = 265px

| caption = Chocolate-covered bacon on a stick

| alternate_name =

| country = North America

| region =

| creator =

| course =

| served =

| main_ingredient = Pork belly, chocolate

| variations =

| calories = 638 (440 from fat; serving size 132 g){{cite web

| title = Chocolate Covered Bacon

| publisher = Recipezaar.com

| url = http://www.recipezaar.com/Chocolate-Covered-Bacon-315079

| archive-url = https://archive.today/20130201012334/http://www.recipezaar.com/Chocolate-Covered-Bacon-315079

| url-status = dead

| archive-date = February 1, 2013

| access-date = December 10, 2009

}}

| other = Cholesterol 53 mg, sodium 632 mg, potassium 347 mg, carbohydrate 37.7 g, protein 11.3 g

}}

Chocolate-covered bacon is an American food that consists of cooked bacon with a coating of either milk chocolate or dark chocolate. It can be topped with sea salt, crumbled pistachios, walnuts, or almond bits.{{cite news|title=Bacon makes everything better, even... chocolate?|url=https://www.today.com/news/bacon-makes-everything-better-even-chocolate-wbna26092641|agency=Associated Press|access-date=February 12, 2009|date=Aug 8, 2008}}{{cite web|url=http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/michael-symon/chocolate-covered-bacon-with-almonds-recipe/index.html|title=Chocolate Covered Bacon Recipe - Chocolate Covered Bacon with Almonds|work=Food Network|last=Symon|first=Michael|access-date=February 12, 2009}} References on the internet date back at least to 2005. The popularity of the dish has spread worldwide, and the dish has featured on television shows about food. A variant has been served at state fairs, where the bacon is served with chocolate sauce for dipping, and the dish has been developed into a gourmet food bar.

A similar food, called "Chocolate salo" originated in Ukraine. Candy manufacturer Confectionery Factory made an April Fool's Day version of the treat out of caramel and some rendered pork fat, giving a candy with a salty flavor similar to salo in chocolate.{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3825221.stm|title=Pork choc on the menu in Ukraine|date=June 21, 2004|access-date=July 19, 2018|publisher=BBC}}

Reception

File:Chocolate covered bacon.JPG]]

File:Chocolate covered bacon from Minnesota State Fair.jpg]]

Chocolate-covered bacon is sold as a specialty food across the United States. It appeared at the Minnesota State Fair under the name "Pig Lickers";{{cite news|url=http://www.kare11.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=515823|archive-url=https://archive.today/20121206010048/http://www.kare11.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=515823|url-status=dead|archive-date=December 6, 2012|title=Chocolate-covered bacon? Try it at the Minnesota State Fair|agency=Associated Press|access-date=February 15, 2009}} it is sold at the Santa Cruz Boardwalk in California and under the name "Pig Candy" by a chocolate maker in New York City.{{Cite journal|journal=New York|title=Cocoa Locals|url=http://nymag.com/restaurants/features/54066/|first1=Robin|last1=Raisfeld|first2=Rob|last2=Patronite|date=February 8, 2009|access-date=February 13, 2009}}

The dish has appeared on the television show Dinner: Impossible as one of the foods served by chef Michael Symon as part of his "mission" to turn everyday boardwalk foods into a gourmet meal at the boardwalk in Wildwood, New Jersey.{{cite web|title=Dinner: Impossible Boardwalk|url=http://www.foodnetwork.com/dinner-impossible/boardwalk/index.html|publisher=Food Network|access-date=February 12, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090206150037/http://www.foodnetwork.com/dinner-impossible/boardwalk/index.html|archive-date=February 6, 2009|url-status=dead}}

Bacon was served with a chocolate dipping sauce at the 2009 Florida State Fair.{{Cite news|last=Cridlin|first=Jay|title=Chocolate-covered bacon? Yep, the state fair is back in town|url=http://www.tampabay.com/features/events/article973624.ece|newspaper=The St. Petersburg Times|date=February 6, 2009|access-date=February 13, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090209110243/http://tampabay.com/features/events/article973624.ece|archive-date=February 9, 2009|url-status=dead}} Time magazine videotaped the making of a bacon bar.{{cite magazine|last=Stein |first=Joel |url=http://www.time.com/time/video/?bcpid=1485842900&bctid=6807851001 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090727045912/http://www.time.com/time/video/?bcpid=1485842900&bctid=6807851001 |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 27, 2009 |title=Bacon Chocolate Bar |magazine=Time |access-date=May 24, 2013}}

Preparation and variations

File:Chocolate bacon.jpg

Typically, streaky bacon is used to make chocolate-covered bacon, although other cuts may be used. It is first cooked and then immersed in melted chocolate; toppings (if any) are added, and the dish is allowed to cool. A variation is to dip the bacon in melted chocolate for a partial coating, leaving some of the bacon showing.

The popularity in the United States of bacon combined with sweet ingredients, caused by the quick (and sometimes viral) spreading of recipes in national media and on the Internet, has led to unexpected culinary inventions, such as candied bacon cubes,{{cite news

| last = Cook

| first = Alison

| title = It's a 'we love bacon' world: We're just lucky to be living--and dining--in it

| newspaper = Houston Chronicle

| date = March 5, 2009

| url = http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/dining/6293494.html

| access-date = March 15, 2009}} which are based on a recipe for "Candied bacon with whipped cream" printed in The New York Times,{{cite news

| last = Fabricant

| first = Florence

| author-link = Florence Fabricant

| title = Make It at Home: Candied Bacon With Whipped Cream

| newspaper = The New York Times