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[Disclaimer - Vegans, vegetarians, pescetarians (pick a side already) and their wanton cousins, the contents of this article are not for you.]
At Homegrown, we have a strict ‘bacon only’ policy. If we’re ordering in, whoever’s in charge of placing the order has to follow one of two rules--order something with bacon in it or make sure there’s enough chorizo in there to ensure we forget you broke rule #1. Don’t get us wrong, we love our ghar ka khana, chaat around the corner and well, just about any other concoction that falls into the category of edible things but meals rarely feel complete without the added addition of those beautiful, golden-brown, crunchy strips of wholesome goodness. And why not? Spanish, extra fat, burned to a crisp or practically raw we’re willing to bet that there isn’t a food type out there that so selflessly and lovingly lends its flavour to just about anything to make it better.
We could do this for a while so instead, we’ll get on with the flesh of it (see what we did there?) We did what we do best and set out to stalk some of Mumbai’s Bacon heroes. The kind of revolutionary personalities who’ve taken their over-the-top love affair with bacon and converted it into a lucrative business like true pimps of the culinary world. Mostly by creating the most stunning concoctions we’ve ever rewarded our tastebuds with. Death By Bacon is a tribute to these good folks so read on as we poke them, prod them and toss them around in a hot pan in the hopes that their answers to our ‘Baconnaire’ would reveal all their kitchen secrets.
As parting words we’ll leave you with Eric Forman’s words of wisdom. Mmm *insert fake french accent* Bacon.
I. Amrita Rana
Who: Amrita Rana is a food blogger (Life Ki Recipe). She spent a few years as an RJ until she realised that the kitchen holds far deeper secrets, so now she reviews restaurants, conducts cooking workshops across the country, makes artisan spreads and sells happiness in jars. Working out of a home-based pantry in versova, she is known as the Bacon Jam lady amongst fellow foodies.
Her Profile-Worthy Bacon Dish: A BLT made from her OMG Bacon Jam. (Yes, she makes Bacon Jam, kill us now.)
The Baconnaire:
Describe your love affair with Bacon in gory detail.
AR: “Well, I have always been a fan of bacon-wrapped food since always but my life changed when this cousin of mine tried some bacon jam in a small home cafe in UK. When he called me to tell me all about this beautiful concoction he literally said “This Bacon Jam is life altering.” Sure enough, I googled up a storm and there were plenty of bacon jam recipes. I tried a couple of them with ingredients available here and finally settled for my version that I bottle.”
Bacon is…
AR: “Love. No more words needed.”
What’s the closest substitute for bacon for your palate?
AR: “Shiitake Mushroom. I’m big fan of mushrooms, they have beautiful character.”
What does bacon go best with according to you?
AR: “Every single thing. Even the oddest ones like desserts and milkshake.”
Craziest bacon concoction you’ve ever seen/heard of?
AR: “I was ‘pinspired’ by this Bacon Dressing for salad which I use very, very often on my salad. It’s crazy how one can manage to turn something healthy into sinful in a single drizzle.”
Does it make it harder to eat bacon after watching this video?
AR: “Video is taken off due to copyright issues. Basically, the universe wants us to keep eating bacon and never even consider the thought of giving it up!”
If you could create one revolutionary dish out of bacon, what would it be?
AR: “OMG Bacon Jam has been one. Another revolutionary dish that came out of my kitchen recently was this Bacon wrapped stuffed chicken basted with homemade bacon bbq sauce and a side salad with warm bacon dressing.[Note to readers--You’re at work, stop drooling.]”
The weirdest (but still delicious) pairing of bacon with something else that you’ve ever tried?
AR: “I had this caramel ice-cream with candied bacon. That was the first time I tried bacon in dessert and it was delicious!”
Describe the process of creating your bacon jam?
AR: “A batch of OMG Bacon Jam takes about 10-12 hours. I’d fry up all the bacon to render out as much fat as I can. After discarding the fat, it’s cooked in the stewing onions, garlic, vinegar, maple, brown sugar and a couple of other condiments for hours. Towards the end, I blend it to make it more jam-like in its consistency and cook even further before cooling and bottling it.”
II. Roycin D’Souza
Who: Roycin D’Souza is a 22-year-old Music/Lifestyle/Photographer/Videographer who’s been freelancing for 3 years now. Apart from that, he runs the Makin’ Bacon stall which is essentially a popup restaurant concept that deals with fun festival/fast food at events/festivals and will soon be venturing into merchandising and selling of gourmet bottled/packaged products.
Apart from that, he loves the sea - scuba/free diving, swimming, jumping of boats, riding his bike and traveling. And dogs. Because dogs are awesome.
His profile-worthy bacon dish: Bacon Cake. It’s a deadly concoction of Bacon, Ham, Cheese, Sausages, Pork Mince, and more Bacon.
The Baconnaire:
Describe your love affair with Bacon in gory detail.
RD: “I discovered Bacon very late actually. I started making foot long Bacon Dogs some 3 years ago followed by an 18 egg Bacon Deck (6 layered omelette, ham, bacon mince, cheese, blah blah blah cake of sorts. [We’ve actually eaten a watered down version of this due to a lack of eggs. We will still vouch for it]”
Bacon is…
RD: “Sex for your tastebuds.”
What’s the closest substitute for bacon for your palate?
RD: “Ham. I’m easy like that.”
What does bacon go best with according to you?
RD: “More Bacon.(Or Cheese).“
Craziest bacon concoction you’ve ever seen/heard of?
RD: “The shit that folks at EPIC MEAL TIME do. They’re fucking idiots.”
Does it make it harder to eat bacon after watching this video?
RD: “The link won’t open. If it involves killing a pig, gutting it, skinning it, deboning it, and all of that - I’ve done that before. So, no. I’d still eat meat. Might feel a bit weird if this video is playing while I’m eating for sure.”
If you could create one revolutionary dish out of bacon, what would it be?
RD: “If it’s going to be revolutionary, it’s going to take a bit of time to come up with an idea.”
The weirdest (but still delicious) pairing of bacon with something else that you’ve ever tried?
RD: “Chocolate and Alcohol.”
Describe the process of creating the bacon bomb?
RD: “Cut meat, piss off grandma, make a mess in the kitchen, put all the ingredients together in a baking tray, bake in the over for an hour, try not to eat it before delivering it.”
III. Sahil Makhija
Who: At 31, Sahil’s been a part of the Indian metal scene for over 15 years now. He plays for 3 bands currently (Demonic Resurrection, Workshop and Reptilian Death). He’s also been a host in a heavy-metal cooking show titled ‘Headbanger’s Kitchen’ since 2011.
His profile-worthy bacon dish: The Bacon Bomb.
The Baconnaire:
Describe your love affair with Bacon in gory detail.
SM: “This one time I started a food blog on Facebook. I stumbled upon cooking videos on YouTube and discovered the BBQ pit boys and Epic Meal Time. I was inspired and there began my love and fondness with bacon. It was simple, delicious and destiny.”
Bacon is...
SM: “The best man-made God.”
What’s the closest substitute for bacon for your palate?
SM: “Ham, some good quality ham. Smoked, with honey.”
What does bacon go best with according to you?
SM: “I would say a delicious beef burger.”
Craziest bacon concoction you’ve ever seen/heard of?
SM: “Bacon Beer and Bacon Ice-cream are only topped by the bacon condom. I’m not sure the condom is edible though.”
Does it make it harder to eat bacon after watching this video?
SM: “No not really. We’re all conditioned and wired differently.”
If you could create one revolutionary dish out of bacon, what would it be?
SM: “The possibilities with bacon are endless so it’s quite hard to really say but maybe like an Alligator covered in bacon? No? too out there? Bacon covered Rabbit then.”
The weirdest (but still delicious) pairing of bacon with something else that you’ve ever tried?
SM: “I’m ashamed to say there has been none so far.”
Describe the process of creating the Bacon Bomb?
SM: “You start out by buying lots of bacon. Take some of it, chop it up and fry it till it’s nice and crispy. Pork mince is an essential ingredient so season about 500grams of it with a seasoning of your choice. I like fresh basil. Roll it out flat in the shape of a square. Season the inside with garlic salt, pepper, herbs and whatever your heart desires. Then fill with some cheese, the crispy bacon and onions. Roll it up like a nice sausage. Wrap it with bacon. Cover with BBQ sauce and bake for about 45minutes. That is the bacon bomb and that is #winning.”
IV. Rahul Mehra
Who: Rahul Mehra is the 28-year-old founder of Gateway Brewing Co.
His profile-worthy Bacon dish: 8.9% ABV Bacon Stout called ‘Pig Done Wrong.’ It came up as an idea over Twitter, so a couple of us who love bacon (whose names are on the label) got together and brewed this at my place. We also added some vanilla tobacco and raw palm sugar to give it balance and complexity.
The Baconnaire:
Describe your love affair with Bacon in gory detail.
*No response, presumably because he got carried away with his imagination.*
What’s the closest substitute for bacon for your palate?
RM: “There’s NO substitute for bacon! whoever tells you otherwise, is probably a vegetarian.”
Craziest bacon concoction you’ve ever seen/heard of?
RM: “Bacon gumballs I found at a convenience store in Singapore; I also saw a bacon toothpaste there, but didn’t pick it up. *Dammit* Other interesting ones in Bombay are Bacon cake by Roycin, bacon Mary cocktail at Woodside Inn.”
Does it make it harder to eat bacon after watching this video?
RM: “Can’t view the video but I’m sure it’s some cute piglets doing something adorable on camera & no it doesn’t make it harder.”
If you could create one revolutionary dish out of bacon, what would it be?
RM: “Not sure yet, but it will be some traditional Indian dish with bacon as an added element. Malai chicken tikka with bacon or Bengali Sandesh with cinnamon maple bacon.”
The weirdest (but still delicious) pairing of bacon with something else that you’ve ever tried?
RM: “Not really weird but definitely delicious- Dates stuffed with goat cheese, wrapped in bacon and baked further garnished with maple-cayenne pine nuts.”
Describe the process of creating Pig Done Wrong?
RM: “A few of us got together over Twitter & decided to make a beer. Everyone got something to add to the beer - We met early saturday morning at my place & drank a lot while brewing the beer which explains why I can’t remember much from that day. Once the beer was ready, everyone got a bottle to take home.”
