What's shakin' bacon? These 12 extraordinary recipe ideas!

More than a simple side dish to be served with eggs, bacon is a universal favourite for its versatility and decadent smoky flavour. Here are 12 extraordinary recipe ideas that will help make delicious bacon even more enjoyable!

To keep grilled fish from drying out, wrap whole fish or fillets in strips of smoked bacon.

• The bacon not only enhances the smoky aromas of grilled fish, but keeps the flesh juicy.

For an unexpected flavour in pancakes, add cooked and crumbled bacon to the batter.

• Use the bacon drippings to cook the pancakes in the griddle instead of butter. You'll be amazed at how well bacon goes with maple syrup!

To make cornbread even tastier, fry eight slices of bacon until crisp. Then use the drippings to replace part of the fat in the recipe. Crumble the bacon and add to the batter.

For out-of-this-world roasted pork, rub the roast with your favourite spice rub. Wrap the roast in slices of bacon and brush with maple syrup. Roast and serve sliced.

• The bacon will baste the meat, adding moisture and flavour as the roast cooks.

For a delicious and savoury pie crust, fry six to eight slices of bacon until crisp, drain, chop and add to the pie dough. Chill and roll the dough as usual.

• Adding bacon is great for quiche and other tasty pies.

To add flavour and moisture to meat loaf, wrap strips of bacon around the loaf before baking.

• Mix some crumbled, cooked bacon into the meat loaf mixture as well.

To reduce the fat in cooked bacon, bake it at 190°C (375°F) on a rack set over a rimmed baking sheet. The fat will drip into the baking sheet. Bonus: the bacon stays flat instead of curling up and tends to be crispy.

• Crumble bacon bits and add as a delicious, lower-fat garnish to almost any dish.

For mashed potatoes you won't soon forget, mix in crumbled cooked bacon.

• Sour cream in the mash complements the bacon really well.

To enliven creamy dips, stir in crumbled crispy bacon.

• For even more flavour, also add sautéed shiitake mushrooms.

To give lentil salads a smoky kiss, add some chopped and cooked bacon. Here's a basic recipe:

1. Start with 250 g (1/2 lb.) cooked, cooled brown lentils.
2. Toast 125 ml (1/2 c.) chopped walnuts in a skillet over medium-low heat until fragrant, about five minutes.
3. Cut five or six slices meaty bacon into small squares and cook in the same skillet over medium heat until crisp. Drain on a paper towel-lined plate and let cool.
4. To serve, divide mesclun greens or baby spinach and two peeled and thinly sliced carrots among four salad plates.
5. Squeeze 50 ml (1/4 c.) fresh lemon juice into a medium bowl. Slowly whisk in 125 ml (1/2 c. olive oil) in a thin stream.
6. To the lentils in a separate bowl, add 30 ml (2 tbsp.) of chopped, fresh basil or oregano, and salt to taste.
7. Mix lemon juice and olive oil well then spoon mixture over the greens, sprinkling generously with the bacon and walnuts. Top with freshly cracked black pepper.

To enhance the flavour of poultry stuffing even more, cook bacon until crisp, then use the bacon fat to sauté the onions, celery and other stuffing ingredients.

• Crumble the bacon and add to the stuffing.

For a white seafood pizza with panache, add some crispy bacon to the toppings. Here's how:

1. Top a prepared pizza crust with ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese, freshly chopped garlic, extra-virgin olive oil, crumbled crisp bacon, dried oregano and canned chopped clams.
2. Bake at 230°C (450°F) until the cheese melts and the crust is golden brown, eight to 10 minutes.
3. Cut into slices and serve piping hot.

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