Bacon sushi with maple beads on D is for Dinner

A part-time firefighter is teaming up with a chef to perfect his bacon sushi recipe for a fundraising dinner.

Pete Laplante works for the Richmond 82 Fire Department, but he also spends a lot of time in the kitchen. This weekend, Laplante will try to nail his bacon sushi recipe at a dinner featuring emergency response teams paired with professional chefs.

Here's the recipe Laplante will try to perfect:

Bacon Sushi

Ingredients

• 5 Slices of bacon.
• 250 g ground pork (other ground meat may be used).
• 50 g aged cheddar.
• 1/2 tsp minced garlic.
• 1/2 tsp smoked paprika.
• 1/8 tsp salt.
• 1/8 tsp black pepper.
• Maple syrup for glazing.

Instructions

1. Mix ground pork and seasonings (garlic, paprika, salt and pepper) and set aside.
2. Cut cheese into long cubes.
3. Lay out slices of bacon on a bamboo rolling mat or a piece of parchment.
4. Flatten seasoned ground meat onto bacon ensuring even coverage.
5. Lay cheese at top of roll and press into ground meat.
6. Start to roll up meat, ensuring you keep it tight and even.
7. Set roll on baking sheet or rack over baking sheet and bake at 350°F for 20 minutes. 
8. Remove and glaze roll with maple syrup, return to oven for another 5 minutes or until ground meat reaches a temperature of 160° (approximately 30 minutes).
9. Remove roll, glaze with more maple syrup and let rest for at least five minutes before slicing.

Maple Caviar Beads

Ingredients

• 50 ml maple syrup.
• 50 ml water.
• 1/2 tsp agar-agar (seaweed based gelling agent).
• Canola oil in a tall container (chilled in the freezer for at least an hour).
• Syringe or medicine dropper (squeeze bottle may also be used).

Instructions

1. Heat maple syrup, water and agar-agar to a boil. Remove from heat and cool to 140°-150°F. (If syrup is too hot, gellification will not happen.)
2. Let syrup mixture fall into cold oil drop by drop. Mixture will solidify when it hits the cold oil.
3. Strain oil and rinse "caviar" under cool water.
4. Caviar is ready to use.

Honey Mustard Sauce

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp grainy mustard.
• 1 tbsp regular mustard.
• 1 tbsp honey.

1. Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. Serve bacon sushi on honey mustard sauce.