Would you believe this is kosher?
I mean — looks like bacon doesn’t it?
But it’s Facon. Fake bacon. A new product from Jack’s Gourmet. It’s made with beef. It is salty, smoky and with just the right amount of fat to give it a rich, smooth feel.
I used it to make these Rumaki, which I served at my Academy Awards get-together. I can tell you this: some of my guests were not kosher, not Jewish. Everyone ate these and raved about them.
When people come to my house for dinner they know they’re usually going to get some experiment (or two or three) and are always wondering when it will come in the meal. But they didn’t think this was it and when I told them what this stuff was they were all flabbergasted.
So here’s the recipe:
Rumaki
1/2 pound chicken livers
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons molasses
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 tablespoons crumbled crystallized ginger
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1/2 star anise (or use 1/4 teaspoon anise extract)
1/2 pound Facon (or use other kosher bacon)
Cut the chicken livers into bite-sized pieces. Combine the soy sauce, molasses, honey, water, vegetable oil, ginger, garlic and anise in a saucepan. Bring to a simmer. Add the livers and poach them for 5 minutes. Preheat a grill or broiler. Remove the liver pieces with a slotted spoon and let cool. Cut the Facon slices into smaller pieces that are large enough to wrap around each piece of poached liver. Secure each Facon-wrapped liver with a toothpick. Broil or grill the rumaki for several minutes, turning occasionally, until the Facon is browned and crispy.
Makes 18-20 pieces