morning after is a hangover newsletter from Ashlie Stevens. It arrives the first weekend of the month with recipes for a chef-inspired hangover cure and a hydrating drink, as well as an entertainment suggestion for a morning best spent on the couch. Become a paid subscriber for premium content throughout the month, like additional recipes, chef interviews and city guides.
About a month ago, OddFellows, the Brooklyn-based ice cream maker, partnered with Desus and Mero hosts Desus Nice and The Kid Mero — known to fans as the Bodega Boys — to develop a six-flavor "bodega capsule" bundle.
It sold out (twice) almost immediately, but I was absolutely obsessed from afar with their “Baconeggncheese” flavor which featured candied bacon, whipped cheese cream and candied egg yolks swirled through a vanilla ice cream base. Breakfast sandwiches are my all-day, everyday go-to, whether booze has been consumed or not. Infusing its magical sensibilities into ice cream is a brilliant move.
Unfortunately, I missed out on the bodega collection and haven’t quite made space for an ice cream machine in my studio apartment kitchen. The next best thing? BEC Cinnamon Rolls — made with candied bacon bits, grated cured egg yolk and a healthy slathering of cream cheese icing.
Obviously you can make your own cinnamon rolls if you want to (here are some pointers to get you started), but honestly one of those Pillsbury tubes is the way to go. Just zhuzh it from there with some tasty bits you can make ahead of time. Here’s what you’re going to need:
Candied Bacon
¼ pound of thick cut bacon
¼ tablespoon fresh ground black pepper
¼ cup dark brown sugar
Arrange the bacon on a wire rack and sprinkle with black paper. Lightly pat the brown sugar on top of the bacon to create a thin layer. Move your metal rack onto a foil-lined baking sheet, and then move all that into a 375-degree oven
Allow the bacon to bake for about 20 minutes, or until the brown sugar has melted and the bacon is crisp.
Remove from the oven and allow the bacon to cool until room temperature. Crumble it up into little pork candy pieces. You can store them in an airtight container for up three days.
Cured Egg Yolks
I use this recipe from Bon Appetit. It’s flawless. I like the rich, salty notes cured egg yolks provide as opposed to candy since the rest of the bun’s components are so sweet. When you’re ready to use them — it takes about four days for them to be ready, fyi — for your buns, grate about ½ cup and set aside.
Cream Cheese Icing
If you’re not feeling making homemade icing, I get it (and the stuff that comes with the Pillsbury rolls is bomb). But if you want to really amp up the cream cheese element of this rolls, go with this recipe:
1 8 oz package cream cheese, softened
¼ cup butter softened
2 cups powdered sugar
½ tsp pure vanilla extract
1/8 tsp salt
Whip everything together until fully-combined and fluffy. Now, it’s time for assembly. Once your Pillsbury rolls come out of the oven, slather them in your cream cheese icing, and sprinkle them with your candied bacon bits and cured yolk.