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Bacon wrapped figs paired with whisky

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@Hewie
Hewie started a discussion

I'm sure it was in a thread on here recently that someone recommended figs wrapped in bacon as a food-whisky pairing. Sounds divine to me, but for the life of me I can't locate it again. Dried figs or fresh? I'm keen to try this! I searched and found some previous conversations on favourite food pairings with whisky. I've tried but I'm not a fan of chocolate and other very sweet things as they seem to make the whisky bitter in comparison. I think something savoury is the way to go. I'm hosting a wee tasting with friends next weekend and would like some food pairing ideas. I'm tending towards the good old smoked salmon, blue cheese, and maybe some black pudding.....Got any other suggestions?

6 years ago

9 replies

@Hewie
Hewie replied

Oh dear - I managed to double tap the "SUBMIT" button and got 2 posts the same! Sorry, can't work out how to delete this duplicate - oops

6 years ago 0

@Alexsweden
Alexsweden replied

We usually use dates instead of figs. Fresh is best but make sure to remove the kernel!

6 years ago 1Who liked this?

@cricklewood
cricklewood replied

Savoury pairings can be really fun, for bacon wrapped dates it's pretty easy, try and get "medjool" dates as they are bigger, make sure they aren't too dry.

Remove the pits (if applicable) and then you can stuff the dates with a fresh goat cheese or blue is good too. Pack the dates with cheese and then roll them in bacon, use a toothpick to secure and lay them out on a sheet pan covered in parchment paper. You can prep them in advance keep them in the fridge and them bake them at 375-400°F for anywhere between 15-30 min, basically take them to how crispy you like the bacon try and flip them over half way through to even the cooking. You could even get cheeky and try putting a some black pudding in the dates too.

Smoked salmon is nice, if you can get the hot smoked stuff, you can mash it with, a mix of cream cheese and mayonnaise add lemon, juice and fresh herbs (cilantro/parsley/dill) use it as a spread or dip, I make this for our whisky tastings and it always disappears quickly.

Cheeses pair really well with whisky, oysters too, sushi was a recent revelation for me. Hope this helps

6 years ago 1Who liked this?

@cricklewood
cricklewood replied

Oh forgot, yes dried figs works too, harder to stuff so you can make that optional. Ideally look for black mission figs, they are usually plumper not as dry as other varieties.

6 years ago 1Who liked this?

@Hewie
Hewie replied

@cricklewood Mmm those suggestions all sound delicious. Thanks.

6 years ago 0

@BlueNote
BlueNote replied

@Hewie Bacon is the new black. Goes well with anything.

6 years ago 1Who liked this?

@Hewie
Hewie replied

well, I can report back on what went well. It was more of a gathering of friends and drinking whisky with food rather than a whisky tasting per se. I ended up making some devils on horseback (prunes wrapped in bacon). Fresh figs are not in season here and these are a 70's classic! Fruit and bacon are a winner. Inspired by Master Chef (a cooking show), I did black pudding rounds with apples 2 ways - a thin slice of caramelised apple and a slice of quick pickled apple. That went very nicely with the Bunnahabhain. Salmon blinis, a range of cheeses, and some wee onion marmalade pastry tarts complemented the whiskys nicely.

6 years ago 1Who liked this?

@cricklewood
cricklewood replied

@Hewie good substitution with the prunes. Your spread sounds delicious and has given me ideas for forthcoming gatherings. I might just do goat cheese and onion marmelade tarts. What were the whiskys you served?

6 years ago 0

@Hewie
Hewie replied

@cricklewood this was a few friends who are showing an interest in learning a bit more about whisky - but not whiskyphiles (yet). Each couple bought a bottle to share so it wasn't an orchestrated line up. we had Glen Grant 10 (1st in a whisky cocktail with lemon juice, rosemary infused sugar syrup, and topped up with sparkling wine, then later on by itself), Singleton 12, Bowmore 12, and Bunnahabhain 12. It was a fun night but not too serious.

6 years ago 0

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