Contrary to popular belief, the Reel Whore cannot survive solely on movies and music. I do require sustenance from time to time. Like my taste in movies, I sometimes choose to sample foods outside the norm.
At the North Carolina State Fair a few weeks back, such an opportunity presented itself. To paraphrase Ron Swanson of Parks & Recreation, it was my #1 favorite food dipped in my #3 favorite food. Actually, chocolate is nowhere near my #3 favorite food, but I just really wanted to give a shout to my fave character from that show. But if I had to chose a #1 favorite food, bacon would probably win. That's right; I'm talking about chocolate-dipped bacon.
These dubious treats were dubbed "pig lickers" by the fair folk. Really? Pig lickers? Even if the swine flu weren't rampant, naming a foodstuff in such a way as to conjure images of running your tongue across the bristly, filthy skin of a swine isn't a sure-hit marketing plan. Still, for $2.25, what the hell? Here's the infamous pig licker:
I'll spare you the gruesome details. All you really want to know is the verdict:
It was actually pretty tasty. I'd describe the first bite as chocolately, then bacony. The two don't really blend, but the sweetness of the chocolate and the saltiness of the bacon is just yummy. It's kind of like dipping potato chips in cake icing. What, you've never done that? A pig licker is the perfect party snack. Instead of littering your table with cookies and chips and the like, just dip some bacon in chocolate and it'll be sure to satisfy.
In honor of the fair, The Cupcake Shoppe Bakery offered a chocolate-bacon cupcake as its flavor of the week. Since I was on my pig-lickin' kick,
Sadly, I was not impressed. I liked the look; the bacon bits atop the mountain of frosting was a nice touch, but the flavor just wasn't there. The frosting sort of glazed the roof of my mouth. Its flavor vaguely reminded me of bacon grease, but without the bacon texture it wasn't as enjoyable. The chocolate cake was good, though. By the way, the Cupcake Shoppe's cupcakes are very good. I highly recommend the Pretty in Pink strawberry cupcake. It is awesome. The chocolate bacon cupcake...not so much.
I hope you enjoyed this little diary of my digestive decisions. I'll return to my movie musings now.
Welcome to the food & movie fold :)
ReplyDeleteI envy your find, of chocolate covered bacon. It is a holy grail of foodery.
Thanks, though I'm nowhere near the foodie blogger you are.
ReplyDeleteI'm working on my chocolate covered bacon recipe now. I'm thinking it'll be my contribution to many a holiday pot luck. I must convert the masses.
I am just speechless. It's not enough to get a whole strip of bacon, dipped in chocolate, on a stick - which is amazing enough in and of itself - but to name it a "pig licker"? I LOVE it. I am SO sad that I don't have any. Was it dark chocolate? That might be an excellent way to spend an afternoon: recipe-testing homemade pig lickers with both milk and dark chocolate.
ReplyDeleteIt was milk chocolate from what I remember. I didn't even think of trying variations on the chocolate. Dark, milk, white - oh the possibilities!
ReplyDeletenot a pork eater at all (but not because it doesn't taste good!) but i love salty and sweet snax--once in a while i'll eat chocolate covered pretzels, or those chex sweet and salty things...mmmmmm
ReplyDeleteChex sweet n salty, mmm. It's been a long time since I had that. I may need to add that to the holiday snack list.
ReplyDelete