Wednesday, August 17, 2016

Classics Countdown: Chicken Fried Bacon

Classics Countdown day 8 brings us some meaty goodness:

Chicken Friend Bacon



Location: Giggles Campfire Grill Southeast corner of Lee Ave. & Cooper St. at The North Woods


Sarah: I could literally write an entire post, an epic ode to Giggles and the delicious foods they serve, but for now, we’re just talking about Chicken Fried Bacon.

CFB is a newer classic, introduced in 2010. Strips of bacon are battered and seasoned with fried chicken batter, then deep fried, and severed with a maple glaze dipping sauce.

When it’s done right, it is sublime!

But some years it’s not quite up to par. The biggest problem that tends to crop up is being undercooked. When that happens, the batter falls off and the bacon is more chewy than crispy.

But when it’s done right, it’s so good that it’s worth trying every year, even if you get one that’s undercooked.


Anne: You might think having one bacon product on the list is sufficient, but if you think that then you HAVEN’T BEEN PAYING ATTENTION, READER.

Giggles is a smorgasbord of delicious items, and chicken fried bacon was the flagship item for us- it’s what brought us there and kept us going. Just imagine- take regular old, delicious bacon, and then dip it in a fried chicken batter, and then deep fry it. Serve it with some sort of cinnamon dipping sauce- delicious.

Like other bacon products, Chicken Fried Bacon is also hit and miss from year to year- usually due to under cooking (it needs to be crispy, not droopy), but when it’s fried to perfection it’s amazing. Also- you get like 6 pieces per order, so make sure to share because this is one of those items that can fill you up when you go it alone.


Patrick: This has been only around for a few years now, but it has quickly leapt to the top of the must-have classics list.

If you you’re going to mess with bacon, you might as well chicken fry it and dip it in sweet maple sauce.

Find it at Giggles, a vendor who I am pretty sure could fry up cow pies and batter it and it would become a State Fair staple. Seriously, Giggles serves out gold and you better go get a slice.

5 comments:

  1. Sarah, I think the bacon being severed by the maple glaze is, like, the most metal typo. Another to-try!

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  2. Love Giggles*. Don't love the CFB. Had it once and wasn't impressed. Maybe I got a bad batch, but I didn't like the dipping sauce either - I think it needs something more savory than sweet (though I get why they went with a sweeter sauce).

    *Have you had the Walleye Cakes at Giggles? They're pretty great (though like everything from there, huge and shareable). I also had the Walleye Roll one year, but I think it ended up being made with a bad piece of fish - it was especially boney and kind of turned me off the sandwich. And I love Giggles because it makes for a great beer stop up on Machinery Hill.

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  3. I would say if you have the space/time, you should give the CFB another shot some year.

    And keep your eyes on this blog next week for our post about the Walleye Cakes

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