Spicy Bacon Bloody Mary and Bacon-Infused Vodka

So, do you remember a few days ago when I was all excited to wrap #BaconMonth up with a neat little bow? I told you that the 31st was International Bacon Day, making it the perfect close to a month-long bacon fest? Turns out, I lied. Not purposefully—it was due to a mistake on a website that lists food holidays (it was actually the 30th, and the Saturday before Labor Day). Consider my bubble burst.

Ultimately, though, even if my bow is a little crooked and wonky (believe me, that's nothing new), it was still an amazing month. I also mentioned a raising of glasses, and that is still on! This Bloody Mary was the majority of bacon month in-the-making. I know have a jar of vodka infused with the flavor of bacon sitting pretty in my fridge. I'm pretty sure that calls for a Bloody Mary a day all weekend long. How perfect is it that this is a long weekend, by the way!?

I like my Bloody Mary with a kick, so I start out with spicy tomato juice or V8. From there I add more spice. You can always tame it down if you don't like as much heat by using regular tomato juice and/or leaving out the horseradish and hot sauce. But that's no fun.

So, here's to an amazing month...and bacon!

Spicy Bacon Bloody Mary (and Bacon-Infused Vodka)

Make your own bacon-infused vodka, and then use it in a Spicy Bacon Bloody Mary (complete with a bacon salt rim and a bacon twist garnish).

by Heather Schmitt-Gonzalez

Prep Time: 15 minutes (+ 1 week to infuse vodka)

Cook Time: 15-20 minutes (bacon twist)

Keywords: beverage dairy-free nut-free bacon vodka tomatoes

Ingredients (2-4 cocktails, with leftover vodka)

for the Bacon-Infused Vodka:

• 1/2 of a 750 ml bottle of vodka
• 1/4 cup rendered bacon fat, at room temperature

for the bacon twist garnish:

• 4 slices thinner bacon
• 4 disposable wooden chopsticks

for the bloody marys:

• 16 ounces spicy tomato or vegetable juice
• 1/2 to 3/4 cup bacon-infused vodka
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon prepared horseradish
• 1/4 teaspoon celery seed
• 1/4 teaspoon roasted ground coriander
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• sea salt, to taste
• hot sauce, to taste

to finish:

• bacon salt, such as J&D's Bacon Salt or homemade (ground fine)
• 4 leafy celery stalks, trimmed
• bacon twists
• 4 lemon or lime wedges

Instructions

infusing the vodka:

Combine the vodka and the room temperature bacon grease in a large (or a couple of smaller) jar with a tight-fitting lid. Seal jar, and gently shake it around a bit. Refrigerate for one week.

Open the jars and pry back the layer of fat. Set a strainer over a jar and line it with a coffee filter. Pour the vodka through the filter-lined strainer.

The bacon-infused vodka is now ready to be used. Store in a jar or bottle with lid in the refrigerator.

making the bacon twists:

Preheat oven to 425° F. Loosely wrap one piece of bacon around each chopstick in a loose spiral. Set on a rack set over a baking sheet. Slide into preheated oven and bake until brown and crisp, 15-20 minutes. Let the twists cool completely before sliding out the chopstick.

making the Spicy Bacon Bloody Marys:

Stir all of the ingredients together in a large pitcher or jar. Refrigerate until cold.

finishing and serving:

Rub the rim of each glass with the lemon or lime wedge until thoroughly moistened. Overturn it into a small saucer with bacon salt lining it. Fill each glass with ice, then pour in bloody mary mixture.

Garnish with a celery stalk and a bacon twist.

-cocktail adapted from Bacon 24/Seven

Cheers to our tireless host, Julie from White Lights on Wednesday, my fellow bacon-loving bloggers, and each and every person who joined us in celebrating that gloriously salty meat and encouraged us to take a recipe and #putsomepiginit!

This post is part of Bacon Month 2014! As part of the month-long bacon fun, we will be giving away one different bacon-centric cookbook per week during the month of August. You can see all of the books we're giving away this month, see a list of participating bloggers, and also enter whichever giveaway is currently running by clicking over to my Bacon Month Announcement post at any time.

Keep up with the bacon goodness by following Bacon Month with the #baconmonth and #putsomepiginit hashtags, and find even more bacon recipes and inspiration on our I Heart Bacon Pinterest board!

An InLinkz Link-up

To see the list of #BaconMonth 2014 recipes in their entirety, click HERE!