Friday, October 17, 2014 – I first got the idea about a week ago when I was reading wikipedia articles about sandwiches (probably because I just watched an episode of Cutthroat Kitchen where they were making sandwiches). And I came across the wikipedia article for peanut butter, banana, bacon sandwiches. And I thought to myself, I have to make that. I mean, peanut butter goes well with bananas and peanut butter goes well with bacon. It’s just too perfect! (Really, peanut butter goes well with everything.)
So I did.
I used chunky peanut butter, of course. Chunky’s the best. It’s got chunks of peanuts in it. (I can appreciate smooth peanut butter, though.) I prefer my bananas on the more ripe side. (Yellow with black spots.) I can’t stand green bananas. People eat them anyway. I don’t appreciate them.
But really, let’s talk bacon. Bacon’s become very popular, which is understandable because bacon is awesome. But there is a lot of bad bacon out there. A lot of home chefs and a lot of restaurants will overcook bacon, often to the point of having dried, charred crisps. (This explains the epidemic people who “don’t like bacon”. Chances are, they had a piece of overcooked bacon.) As it turns out, bacon cooks really quickly. Throw bacon on a hot pan for 45 seconds per side, and it’s done. (It could be as fast as 30 seconds, if there’s already hot bacon grease on the pan from the last batch.) Maybe a minute longer per side if you want it a little crispier. But I’ve read recipes that say to cook the bacon for 6+ minutes. Why?!?
Cook bacon responsibly. Bacon is done when it starts to curl. Don’t overcook your bacon.
But Dwayne, you haven’t answered the real question: how did the sandwich taste? Exactly as I expected. All three ingredients came together very well. You’d think the bacon would clash with the bananas, but the peanut butter really holds the sandwich together (in both flavor and structure).
What would I do differently? Less peanut butter. Peanut butter already has a strong flavor, so you don’t want the peanut butter overpowering the rest of the sandwich. (I had a layer of about 1/4 inch peanut butter. Something closer to 1/8 inch would be better.) And more bacon. I used 2 oz of thick sliced bacon. 3-4 oz would be better.
Did I like it? Of course I did. Would I eat it again? Of course I would. I might make some more. Or I might convince Specialty’s to make it for me.
Would I recommend it to others? Definitely yes. But don’t take my word for it. Elvis loved these things too.