Thursday, January 29th, 2009
In case you are a vegetarian, or have been away from your crackberry for the last few weeks, the food world has been a bit surprised with the collective hunger pangs caused by a recipe buzzing around the Internet. Even the NY Times covered it in its venerable Dining and Wine Section, which reports that 16,000 web sites (now 16,001!) have linked to the recipe at the BBQ Addicts website. We're watching history here, folks - no other recipe has been disseminated to so many in such a short period of time.
Called "the Bacon Explosion" by its creators, the popular recipe may have generated more clicks in the past week than the Super Bowl and the Oscars, combined. OK, perhaps not, but estimates exceed 14 million hits.
BTW, if interested in preparing this hunk of pork for your favorite meat eater, I think the BBQ Addicts site provides the best step-by-step instructions (surprisingly, only 415 diggs as of this morning).
What Wine Goes With Bacon Explosion?
Which brings me to today's email from a member asking what wine I'd pair with this "dish". Actually, it's pretty easy. Most any red wine will work well if it features sweet, ripe-fruit flavors. I'd opt for medium bodied wines, and avoid pairing this mouthful of flavor with your more precious bottles.
From there, the perfect pairing depends on whether you used sweet sausage or hot sausage in your roll and sweet or tangy BBQ sauce. If your preferences lean towards hot sausage and tangy sauce, look for low alcohol wines (below 14.5% for sure) as the alcohol will fight the spicy heat in your particular version of the bacon explosion. Plus, your tangy sauce is likely acidic, and you'll want a wine with higher acidity to stand up to it - I hate to sound like a broken record, but a pinot noiror Italian Reds from a warmer growing region are likely to be the perfect match. Also, Zinfandels from cooler regions where lower alcohol reigns supreme.
If your tastes lean towards sweeter BBQ sauce and sausage, then opt for a ripe Syrah or other Rhone blends. The smoker used to prepare the Bacon Explosion resonates with these wines, whose latent talents include amplifying the toasted oak flavors from their barrels - a great bridge to the smoked meat. Or try a riper Zinfandel or Shiraz that offers jammy fruit and higher alcohol and a peppery spice that flatters this smoked shaft of porcine meat.
Oh, and a decent merlot could work well too.
Cheers!
Dave the Wine Merchant
[email protected]
Quote of the Day:
"Excess, upon occasion, is exhilarating. It prevents moderation from acquiring the deadening effect of a habit."
~ Somerset Maugham (1874 - 1965)
I Need Your Vote! VOTE DAILY!
. Help me continue this free blog by taking 5 seconds to vote here!
