BRANDY BACON DRUMS

I want to continue on with the wheel of the year with an illustration for reference but lets take a break for a recipe I created the other day that I’m sure you will enjoy.

     Well, the market had drumsticks and bacon on sale, and one of my sons had left a bit of brandy here from the holidays so I came up with Brandy Bacon Drums. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did.

7-8 chicken drum sticks

14 – 16 slices of bacon

½ cup brandy

1 tbsp of dried orange zest

1 tbsp sugar

1 tsp black pepper

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp salt or to taste

2 tsp chili powder

1 tsp Cajun or Creole seasoning

Adolph’s meat tenderizer

1 tbsp olive oil

1tbsp butter

   Sprinkle  tenderizer on all drums to coat and rub in. Note that the tenderizer is salty so adjust salt to your taste accordingly… remembering that bacon is involved.

     Adolph’s meat tenderizer is the only true tenderizer on the market that I know of containing bromelain which is derived from the enzyme in pineapple that tenderizes meat. All other tenderizers are just salts which though they tenderize some they do not really break down the fibrousness of protein the same way. Here we are using it for mostly the skin of the chicken, but also for the meat. The bacon will bring juiciness but the skin underneath the bacon will be chewy so we use the tenderizer.

     Sprinkle salt and the pepper all over the drums. Heat a skillet to hot with the oil and butter, and sear quickly but lightly all the drums. Set aside and let them cool just a bit. Roll them in a combined mixture of the rest of the seasonings except the sugar and orange zest. Wrap each drum in two slices of bacon tucking under the ends to hold. Sprinkle the combined zest and sugar over all the drums on both sides. Pour the brandy into the skillet fats and deglaze (mix in a sauté) for just a small amount. Pour a tiny bit of the skillet brandy into the bottom of a greased glass casserole. Arrange the drums, alternating the small ends with drums to the outside edges so they fit well together. Pour the remaining brandy sauté over them.

      Bake these covered with lid or foil on a low heat 325 degrees F. for 45 minutes, this ensures bacon is done right so it crisps later. Then uncover, turn over the wrapped drumsticks carefully, and bake at 400 for 20 more minutes.  Then carefully turn over the wrapped drumsticks again so the crisped bacon side can alternate, and cook for 20 more minutes. When done they should be uniformly cooked in well done crisped bacon with a good liquid baste in the dish about half up the drums deep.

     Immediately remove the drums to serve and use the baste as a sauce if you wish to go aux jus, or just serve without juice. The outsides should be crispy and caramelized but easy to cut into. The insides should be very tender, very moist and very flavorful. Enjoy! I had this with not more than buttered French bread and apple slices, but a side of something green would be nice. And an iron rich veggie would fully balance the protein and fat for a healthy, not to mention elegant, meal.

    

Blessings mes amis