FOOD NEWS
The Ideal Way To Incorporate Bacon Into Your Beef Stew
BY KYLE GRACE MILLS
Beef stew with tender beef, aromatic vegetables, and umami-rich tomato broth is the ultimate hearty comfort food. For a slightly different flavor, bacon is the perfect addition.
Start by cooking your bacon until crispy in the pot you'll be making the stew in or a separate pan. You can cook it in strip form and then cut it up, or cut it before cooking.
You can use the leftover bacon fat to sauté the other stew ingredients, but use only about two tablespoons of fat per batch of stew to prevent an overly greasy result.
If you'd like to infuse the whole stew with smoky pork flavor, add the bacon directly into the stew so that the flavors can properly intermingle during the slow-cooking process.
You can also use the bacon as a crunchy, salty topping by crumbling it on top of bowls of stew right before serving. This way, your guests can choose if they want bacon or not.