12. Bacon, Brie & Egg Pocket

 

 

I had this leftover canister of crescent roll dough which needed to be used soon, so I came up with what I thought was a brilliant idea for an egg recipe - crescent roll "tarts" filled with bacon, brie and an egg.  I mean, c'mon... BACON?  Yesssss.  BRIE?  Fatty, creamy deliciousness!  CRESCENT ROLL DOUGH?  Buttery, flaky and irresistible.  Plus, it was pretty darn easy.

 

I made two HUGE tart pockets and really only needed three pieces of bacon.  I almost exclusively use bacon from Salume Beddu - this amazing porkery here in St. Louis.  I get their bacon, salami, sausage... pretty much any pork that needs to be cured or specially prepared.  All my other pork (chops, ground pork, steaks, etc.) comes straight from the family farm, but they don't do the "fancy" stuff.  ;)  If you happen to live in St. Louis, you should check them out. 

 

Mmm... Crispy bacon waiting to
be crumbled into salty nuggets of
epic tastiness. Perfect to pair with
creamy, double cream brie cheese!

Slice some brie into smaller squares or rectangles.  I bought a
standard wedge and didn't quite use the whole thing for both tarts.

Once you have the bacon and brie ready and waiting, grab a small cookie sheet and grease that baby up!  I am a die-hard "butter" person when it comes to greasing a dish, with some exceptions for olive oil if I'm roasting fish or veggies.  Butter is natural and delicious and it's pretty dang easy to grab a hunk by the wrapper and paint it onto a flat surface.  Next, bust open a canister of crescent roll dough.  Specifically, you'll want to get the kind that comes in a sheet, rather than the kind that is perforated to tear into triangles.

 

Lay the dough down and cut straight down the middle.
Then, add brie to half of each half of dough.

Add crumbled bacon on top of the brie.

Next, you'll want to whisk up an egg and coat the edges of the dough with the egg wash.
Don't throw away the extra - you'll use it on the top of the tart to help make it golden & shiny.

Ok, so here's "part 1" of Laura gets real all over this blog post... I did not photograph the next step of the process.  GASP!  WHAT?  Sorry.  The thing of it is, the next step is where I cracked a fresh egg over the bacon and brie.  I was super pumped to get a fancy shot of that glorious yolk perched on top of this thing, but... Well, as soon as I cracked that egg, the white started going all over the place and I was forced to hurry my self up and seal the pockets.  One of these days I might start getting my husband to play photographer so we get get better procedural pictures (ever noticed that my hands are always out of the way?) but I often do these things when he is still asleep or otherwise occupied.  Also, I have to come clean and tell you I'm not 100% confident in his artistic vision.

 

Anyway... Sorry again, but you're just going to have to trust me when I say that the next thing you do is crack fresh eggs on top and gently set the yolk on the bacon (so it doesn't break) and then hurry up to fold the pockets and pinch all the edges closed.  I pinched the edges together, then folded them on top of themselves, and then used a fork to press them down.

 

Brush the tops of the tart-pockets with egg wash.

Put them in the oven at 375 for about 20 minutes
or until the crescent roll dough is golden brown.

 



BOOM!  Look at that perfectly golden pocket filled with salty, creamy goodness!  I had this with a small side salad of mixed greens with balsamic vinegar.  I almost wish I would have just drizzled balsamic vinegar over the tart...  I love me some balsamic vinegar.  Like, all the time.  On everything.

And now it's time for "part 2" of Laura gets real... Honestly?  This thing was just ok.  I know!  Crazy, right?  I mean, bacon + brie + egg + carby goodness, should totally equal ambrosia.  I didn't want to clue you guys in at the beginning, but here's my two cents:  The brie was definitely creamy and the texture was great, but the flavor was a little bland.  I think I'll be trying a different flavor of this technique using some stronger flavored ingredients.  Maybe sharp cheddar?  Pepperjack?  Feta?  Stay tuned, because I'm not giving up on this concept.  And the bright side, is I can absolutely milk this whole tart pocket (tarcket?) concept for at least half a dozen "egg a days."  Something heavenly will result.  I'm sure of it.

Love & Eggs,

Laura

This egg brought to you by Sophie, my silver cuckoo marans. She's really on my good side right now because she has been reliably laying several eggs a week since the beginning of January.