Smoked Bacon Rub From 'Pitt Cue and Co.: The Cookbook' Recipe

Updated April 04, 2019

20140711-pitt-cue-cookbook-hog-mac-n-cheese-paul-winch-furness-garrett-ziegler.jpg — Photograph: Paul Winch-Furness

This sweet-savory rub from Pitt Cue Co.: The Cookbook is unique in that it uses crisped and ground bacon to enhance its meaty smokiness. The Pitt Cue chefs suggest sprinkling it over cooked pork ribs, and make clever use of it in the crunchy bread crumb topping for their Hog Mac 'N Cheese. Their technique for cooking the bacon results in the most perfect, uniformly crispy bacon ever, though I would recommend using parchment instead of waxed paper.

Recipe Details

Smoked Bacon Rub From 'Pitt Cue and Co.: The Cookbook' Recipe

Active 45 mins

Total 2 hrs

Serves 14 servings

Ingredients

7 ounces bacon
Scant 1/2 cup smoked Maldon sea salt
1/2 cup packed maple sugar or soft light brown sugar
Pinch freshly ground black pepper
Pinch hot smoked paprika
Pinch freshly ground anise seed

Directions

Heat the oven to 350°F. Get two heavy metal baking pans and two sheets of waxed paper ready.
Sandwich the bacon between the waxed paper sheets and the two pans and bake in the oven for 30 minutes, or until brown and crispy. Remove from the oven and lay the bacon on paper towels to cool and dry out.
Use a mortar and pestle to grind the dry bacon to a fine powder with the remaining ingredients. Spread out on a clean baking pan to dry further. When completely dry, grind once more and put into airtight jars. Once a jar has been opened, use within 1 week.

Special Equipment

2 rimmed baking sheets; mortar and pestle

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
68	Calories
4g	Fat
5g	Carbs
4g	Protein

Nutrition Facts
Servings: 14
Amount per serving
Calories	68
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 4g	5%
Saturated Fat 1g	6%
Cholesterol 11mg	4%
Sodium 3736mg	162%
Total Carbohydrate 5g	2%
Dietary Fiber 0g	0%
Total Sugars 4g
Protein 4g
Vitamin C 0mg	0%
Calcium 8mg	1%
Iron 0mg	1%
Potassium 68mg	1%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.