I found this post and thought to myself, that sounds gross. I took a minute to think it over and maybe it doesn’t sound too bad. Below is an outtake from the post.
Making the sandwiches was brainlessly easy. Gathering the ingredients took a little more work. I found some decent bacon at Whole Foods—I wanted something other than the standard issue stuff, thicker, leaner slices. I found the Dundee marmalade at Treasure Island, a Chicago chain of supermarkets that is a great source for all things European. I started to get their classic Orange Marmalade, but then I saw their Three Fruits Marmalade, made with oranges, lemons and grapefruit—that sounded even livelier. And Marion found a nice, dense pumpernickel rye at a Polish bakery and sausage shop in our neighborhood. Here’s what I hesitate to even dignify with the term “recipe”:
Bacon & Marmalade Sandwich on Pumpernickel Toast
Serves 2
8 strips thick cut bacon
4 slices pumpernickel bread
butter
orange marmalade [I actually used Dundee Three Fruits Marmalade]
Fry bacon in two batches or two large skillets, starting uncooked slices in a cold skillet and turning frequently until cooked through, but not until totally crisp—it will hold together better in the sandwich this way. Drain on paper towels.
Toast bread. Butter one slice for each sandwich generously, then apply liberal amounts of marmalade to the buttered slices. I used 2 tablespoons for each sandwich, but our slices of bread were small—about 3 inches by 4-1/2 inches. Arrange bacon on unbuttered slices of bread and top with buttered, marmalade-laden slices. Cut sandwiches in half and serve.
And now the verdict. It was really, really good. Really good. The first bite was as surprising as you might think, given the combination. But then the mixing of sweet and savory, with a little undertone of tart bitterness, began to kick in and it became just as complex and wonderful as you might also think. Make sure you use good ingredients if you decide to make this, though. With only three [four, if you count the butter], a bad one has no place to hide. In looking for marmalade, I saw quite a variety. But I doubt that Smuckers or even Polaner, geared toward the American palate as they are, would be as satisfyingly tart as the Dundee. If anyone has tried either of them and can tell me otherwise, I’d love to hear from you.
