Trend Watch: Sweet, Steaklike 'Millionaire's Bacon' Is Sweeping San Francisco
They’re calling it the "new avocado toast."
What’s trendier than bacon and avocado toast? How about a bacon they’re calling the “new avocado toast”? A luxurious-sounding dish that’s sweeping the San Francisco food scene called … “millionaire’s bacon.”
The considerably-thicker-than-average, center-cut, candied bacon is “succulent,” “sweet,” “spicy” and “complex,” Hoyul Steven Choi, a co-owner of several Bay Area eateries that feature the dish on their menus, recently told the San Francisco Chronicle in a piece highlighting the catchy concept.
Choi, who had the foresight to trademark the term “millionaire’s bacon,” even if he didn’t actually invent it, explained to the paper that it’s made with half-inch-thick slices of pork (as compared to regular bacon’s 1/16 inch thickness) that are then coated with sugar and cayenne paper and cooked in oven for several hours at a low temperature, giving the meat a flavor the paper describes as “smoky.”
True to their name, the thick slabs of meatiness don’t come cheap — costing anywhere from $2 to $14 for two slices. Choi, who introduced the dish at his restaurant Sweet Maple, in 2012 before expanding its reach, has compared them to “a bacon steak.”
Given that, it’s probably not surprising that the concept is a hit on social media — where #millionairesbacon has 3,346 posts and counting. (“Don’t go #bacon my heart,” Instagrammer eatslikeagirl cleverly captioned her #millionairesbacon photo.)
Also not surprising — it’s being used to adorn cocktails, up eggs benedict’s game, and even outshine food mashups like fried French toast (“a cross between a donut and French toast).
And if you’re looking to make your own candied bacon, here’s a recipe to try — and one for caramelized bacon, too. Go ahead, pig out.
Photo courtesy of @tonechka
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