Bacon Maple Ale Ice Cream

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Bacon Maple Ale Ice CreamI decided to bring something a little different to the Ice Cream Social: an ice cream made from Rogue Ales’ Voodoo Doughnut Bacon Maple Ale. This is an unusual brew, evoking a sense of Sunday morning breakfast with every sip. While it wasn’t bad as a drink, it’s not something you could sit down and drink all afternoon. It’s just not that kind of beer; it’s too sweet, too deep, too much for that. These qualities, however, make it a great way to flavor ice cream.

Bacon Maple Ale Ice CreamI turned to America’s Test Kitchen Feed for instruction on how exactly I could make ice cream from beer. While I found their suggestion to reduce the beer before adding it to the custard to be indispensable, I have an issue with their advice to skip tempering eggs and just whisk everything together. I had a gut feeling this was a bad idea, but I followed along, sure that these people knew what they were talking about. This is America’s Test Kitchen, after all! Instead, I scrambled eggs in my custard for the first time in my life. Grrr! I urge you: it really does not take any extra time or dirty any extra dishes. Temper your eggs. It will save you a lot of frustration!

Bacon Maple Ale Ice CreamThis ice cream is not super sweet, and that was intentional. I wanted you to fully enjoy the complex flavors working together: subtle sweetness, smokiness, meaty bacon, bitter hops. If you’d like to adjust it, remember that the custard will taste sweeter than the final frozen product and that maple syrup packs more of a punch than granulated sugar; I wouldn’t suggest bumping it up past 1/2 cup, at the most. Homemade ice cream is best eaten quickly; plan on consuming it within 3 days of freezing.

Voodoo Doughnut Bacon Maple Ale Ice Cream

Carrie @ poet in the pantry
Print Recipe
Prep Time 9 hours
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 9 hours 30 minutes
Course Dessert
Servings 8

Ingredients
  

  • 12 ounces Rogue Ales Voodoo Doughnut Bacon Maple Ale
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract or the scrapings of 1/2 a vanilla bean
  • 6 organic free range egg yolks
  • 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
  • 1/4 teaspoon Himalayan pink salt
  • 2 cups organic half-and-half important that it's organic because there are no additives; it's just cream and milk
  • 5-6 strips candied bacon chopped

Instructions
 

  • In a small saucepan over medium heat, reduce the beer down to half (about 3/4 cup), stirring frequently. (This could take 10-12 minutes.)
  • Stir in the vanilla bean paste and then store reduced beer in refrigerator while making the custard.
  • In a small bowl, whisk the egg yolks, maple syrup, and salt until smooth. Set aside.
  • Heat the half-and-half in a medium saucepan over medium heat until bubbles start forming around the perimeter, stirring constantly, scraping the bottom often to keep from burning.
  • Remove from heat and add half the hot half-and-half to the eggs in a slow, steady stream, whisking the entire time.
  • Whisk until well incorporated, then pour the tempered eggs into the remaining half-and-half in a steady stream, whisking the whole time.
  • Return to the heat and cook until thickened to the point that it coats the back of a wooden spoon and a finger dragged through the custard leaves a clear path.
  • Remove from the heat, place a strainer over the top of a large bowl and pour the custard over that into the clean bowl.
  • Get another bowl that's slightly larger and fill with ice to create an ice bath for the custard. Place the custard bowl in that and stir periodically until it gets down to room temperature, maybe 15 minutes.
  • Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.
  • Process in your ice cream machine according to manufacturer's directions, adding the chopped candied bacon in the last 2 minutes of churning.
  • Transfer to an airtight container and freeze for at least 4 hours before serving to firm it up.

Notes

I may actually consider using straight heavy cream instead of half-and-half next time. Because the beer's water content, even with it reduced, it cuts down on the richness of the cream. I'd be curious to know your thoughts if anyone does try making it this way...

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33 Comments

  1. Yes! Monday is finally here…I’ve been dying to see this recipe since I saw your title. It sounds so good…and I need to find myself some of that ale! And yeah, I think I’d agree about tempering the eggs…it’s definitely better to be safe than sorry. YUM!

    Reply

  4. The Ninja Baker

    A custard can be challenging but always worth it in the end. So glad you shared this recipe, Carrie. My nephew in law is a big beer fan. Thinking this might be a perfect topping to his birthday cake =)

    P.s. Thanks for the intro to Doughnut Bacon Maple Ale!

    P.s. 2. Love to have you take a peek at the Ninja Baker’s s’more ice cream offering =)

    Reply

  8. Ruthy @ Omeletta

    Beer, bacon AND ice cream!? I feel like an excited puppy, and can’t decide which flavor I want more! Surprised that ATK led your down a weird, non-tempered-egg path- their recipes are usually so foolproof!

    Reply

  9. Interesting. . .I’ve made beer ice cream many times and I never reduce it – just pour it straight in! I might have to give your method a try though. So I have tried Voodoo and could barely get a sip down, but as ice cream. Yes, yes indeed I see this working beautifully!

    Reply

  10. Holy cow!!! I’ve never thought to make ice cream with beer. Genius! And I absolutely love the flavors you have going on here. I wonder if I can find that brew around here. I need to make this! I feel the overwhelming need to make it as soon as humanly possible, in fact. Amazing ice cream! PS… always trust your gut 😉 Sorry about the scrambled eggs. What a waste. That really stinks.

    Reply

    • If you can’t find it locally, it can be ordered online. Just ask in the package store if you don’t see it. It stands out with that big, pink bottle. 😉 Other great options (without the bacon) would be stouts, especially chocolate.

      Reply

  15. OMG, beer & bacon?! I thought that your gingersnap rum ice cream might be the most exciting ice cream flavor yet, but now I’m reconsidering 😉

    Reply

  16. Elizabeth @ SugarHero.com

    Bacon? Maple? Ale? I’m pretty much freaking out over all of it, and I don’t know which part to obsess over first. It all sounds amazing! I’m excited to be blogging along with you and to see what you come up with this week. 🙂

    Reply

  18. Ohh… so I keep seeing this beer, and wanting to try it, but being scared I’d drop the $ and hate it. Now I know what to do with the remainder! Also, occasionally I’ve skipped the egg tempering, but made up for it by whisking the crap out of it as I sloooooowly add the eggs. It’s worked, but I know I’m playing with fire. Tempering is a better way to go.

    Reply

    • You’ll have enough left to drink after making the ice cream–and you probably can’t drink more than that in a sitting anyway. There’s a lot going on it for flavor, but like I said, that’s why it works well with the ice cream.

      As for skipping the egg tempering, I whisked the entire freaking time. It was so heartbreaking. Tempering really isn’t that time-consuming. Totally worth the extra step!

      Reply

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