UWFSAE
New member
Okay, I had to stretch this a bit to get this on a smoker website but I think I did it. When I was a kid growing up and my mom would make pancakes, she'd always use a bit of bacon grease on the griddle and not only would the flapjacks not stick in a cast iron skillet but they'd have a faint bacon flavor. So if pancakes work, why not donuts?
Take some Pillsbury Grands Buttermilk Biscuits, flatten them slightly, and use a cap off a sauce container (I used a cap 1" in diameter from a Johnny's French Dip container) to punch the hole.
Heat about 1" deep of bacon grease or lard in a skillet to medium high; if you don't have either on hand you could use canola or any flavorless oil works well, especially peanut.
To make donut holes, combine two of the punches into one ball and fry them up as testers ... they should brown after 60 seconds or so on each side; I used two slotted wooden spoons to keep help them brown on all sides.
Drop a few donuts at a time (three fit nicely in a 12" cast iron skillet) and fry until golden brown, then flip ... the donuts themselves take about 90 seconds per side. Remove and drain on paper towels and then you can toss them in powdered sugar, cinnamon sugar, etc.
BUT ... to make these more in tune with our carnivorous hobby ... I present to you the Maple/Bacon Donut Icing!!!
Melt 1 tbsp of bacon grease in a small nonstick skillet. Add in 1 cup of powdered sugar, 1 additional tbsp of bacon grease, 1 tbsp Grade A maple syrup, 1 tsp of maple extract, 1-2 tbsp of 2% milk, and a half cup of finely diced cooked bacon. Whisk until all ingredients are combined, remove from heat and let cool slightly. Dip the warm donuts in the glaze and twist (like you're opening a jar of pickles) as you remove to get an even coating of glaze. You can then garnish with a few extra pieces of diced bacon on top.
______________________________________________________________________________________
For those freaked out by bacon on a donut, here's an alternative I tried last week with my godkids: 1/2 cup powdered sugar, 1 tbsp salted butter, 1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder, 2 tsp peppermint extract, and 1 tbsp of 2% milk (plus a little more to thin it just slightly) over low heat in a nonstick saucepan to make a chocolate-mint glaze. Take the warm donuts and place face down in the chocolate mixture, let them sit for a few seconds, and rotate the donut to allow the glaze to coat evenly while releasing.
You can use other flavors than peppermint ... raspberry or rum extract go really well with the cocoa powder. I've even done banana extract with chocolate glaze and crushed peanuts (I called it the "A Hunk, a Hunk of Burning Love"). Also, Nutella by itself is KILLER as a donut icing.
Take some Pillsbury Grands Buttermilk Biscuits, flatten them slightly, and use a cap off a sauce container (I used a cap 1" in diameter from a Johnny's French Dip container) to punch the hole.
Heat about 1" deep of bacon grease or lard in a skillet to medium high; if you don't have either on hand you could use canola or any flavorless oil works well, especially peanut.
To make donut holes, combine two of the punches into one ball and fry them up as testers ... they should brown after 60 seconds or so on each side; I used two slotted wooden spoons to keep help them brown on all sides.
Drop a few donuts at a time (three fit nicely in a 12" cast iron skillet) and fry until golden brown, then flip ... the donuts themselves take about 90 seconds per side. Remove and drain on paper towels and then you can toss them in powdered sugar, cinnamon sugar, etc.
BUT ... to make these more in tune with our carnivorous hobby ... I present to you the Maple/Bacon Donut Icing!!!
Melt 1 tbsp of bacon grease in a small nonstick skillet. Add in 1 cup of powdered sugar, 1 additional tbsp of bacon grease, 1 tbsp Grade A maple syrup, 1 tsp of maple extract, 1-2 tbsp of 2% milk, and a half cup of finely diced cooked bacon. Whisk until all ingredients are combined, remove from heat and let cool slightly. Dip the warm donuts in the glaze and twist (like you're opening a jar of pickles) as you remove to get an even coating of glaze. You can then garnish with a few extra pieces of diced bacon on top.
______________________________________________________________________________________
For those freaked out by bacon on a donut, here's an alternative I tried last week with my godkids: 1/2 cup powdered sugar, 1 tbsp salted butter, 1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder, 2 tsp peppermint extract, and 1 tbsp of 2% milk (plus a little more to thin it just slightly) over low heat in a nonstick saucepan to make a chocolate-mint glaze. Take the warm donuts and place face down in the chocolate mixture, let them sit for a few seconds, and rotate the donut to allow the glaze to coat evenly while releasing.
You can use other flavors than peppermint ... raspberry or rum extract go really well with the cocoa powder. I've even done banana extract with chocolate glaze and crushed peanuts (I called it the "A Hunk, a Hunk of Burning Love"). Also, Nutella by itself is KILLER as a donut icing.