I have done it! I have successfully melded two of the worlds greatest foods into a flavor the gods would surely decry as too decadent for mere mortal tongues, if they only knew (but I’m not sharing with them).

When the idea struck me to try and make truffles with bacon in them, I figured I’d just throw some things together and see if the idea had potential, but the first batch came out so perfect I can’t think of anything to change. I’m sure I will, because I never cook anything the same twice, and truffles are the kind of food that really thrives on an exotic ingredient or two.

This recipe takes some time, so don’t start it unless you have a few hours to spare waiting for things to heat and cool. The crucial ingredients:

• Chocolate
• Sweetened condensed milk
• bacon
• coarse salt (for garnish)

For the chocolate filling, I chose Galler 85% chocolate. Use something quite a bit darker than you want to have as the end result. I went with good quality ingredients for everything, and I think it makes a big difference to the end result.

1. I started a pot of water lightly simmering on the stove and floated a smaller pot inside of it, which I filled with the chocolate. This is known as a double boiler.
2. Add in the sweetened condensed milk. I found some made with cane sugar instead of gross stuff. Use about an equal portion to the chocolate, and stir it in until it smooths out.  I also added some liquor at this point. I don’t think it is necessary, but I think it added to the richness and softened things a bit. I didn’t want to make things soupy, so I used some potent 151 proof rum and a bit of home made spiced liquor.
3. Set the mixture in the refrigerator until it firms up to playdough consistency.
4. Scoop out the chocolate and roll it into little balls about 2/3 the size you want the end result.
5. Make some bacon. I prefer the microwave for this, since it will make the bacon extra light and crispy. It will retain its crunch better. If you are too much of a purist for this, I’m sure it will still work. Once the bacon was cooked, I tossed it in the coffee grinder and made bacon bits. I bet any similar appliance, like a Magic Bullet would do the trick.
6. Roll the chocolate balls in the bacon bits and get a good coating of bacon on the outside.
7. The cores are done. Put them in the freezer while you work on the next step.
8. Melt some more chocolate as above. For this I used Dove milk chocolate. There are other chocolates out there that melt better, but most of them will drag the quality down. The Dove came out great.
9. Once the chocolate is melted, take the cores out of the freezer and one by one, drop them in the melted chocolate, roll them around until coated, and then lift them out with a fork. Put them on something non-stick like wax paper or Teflon. As you finish each one, garnish it with a bit of coarse salt on top.
10. Put them back in the fridge until the cool, which doesn’t take long, and they are ready to serve.

I made a bit over a dozen. Due to the amount of time involved compared to the work, I think they are probably better made in larger quantity. I gave most of them away to friends, and they were universally loved. The comment I heard from every single person who tried them was that the salt on top was a really perfect addition. I used Black Pyramid Salt, which you can see in the detail of the above photo. It was the perfect combination, being both exotic with its crystals looking like Mayan pyramids, and coarse without being hard.