Should You Be Sprinkling This Fruit Over Bacon?

When you're frying breakfast, there are lots of ways to use bacon. There are also a lot of preferences: crispy bacon versus soft bacon, served in strips or chopped up in scrambled eggs, and so on. But have you ever tried adding citrus? It might sound unusual, but the contrasting flavors actually work extremely well.

We spoke to Shane Schaibly, senior vice president of culinary strategy at First Watch Restaurants, and he said sour lemons and savory, smoky bacon make for a complex flavor combination in your breakfast. "Lemon, and citrus in general, adds acidity and brightness that cuts through the fat and smokiness of bacon," Shaibly says. You can impart lemon flavor into your breakfast with zest, rind, or lemon juice, although Schaibly says there are applications for each part of the lemon.

Squeezing a lemon rind or adding a bit of zest at the beginning are both good strategies, and so is using some lemon juice at the very end to dull the brightness of the cooking. However, Schaibly says that the zest can go anytime: "As a finishing touch, once the bacon is hot and out of the oven or pan, right before it hits the plate, add lemon by grating fresh lemon zest using a microplane. Lemon juicing works well here too—just before plating."

You don't have to stop using lemons and bacon at breakfast. Both foods pair well with tons of other additions, especially when served in pasta together. You can make lemon-pepper bacon simply by seasoning it with zest and ground black pepper, which gives it a bright, complicated kick. In more elaborate dishes, lemon and bacon work more indirectly but still complement each other. Lemon and garlic pasta with bacon makes for a nice dinner, while cooking scallops with lemon juice and bacon fat makes for a richer dish — in both cases, you're layering complex flavors over a more neutral, hearty base. Lemon juice is also a major ingredient in creamy hollandaise which makes a great eggs Benedict with bacon. 

Can you add anything else to your bacon to get a similarly bold flavor? Schaibly says citrus fruit is only the beginning. "Fresh garlic, black pepper, and maple syrup enhance the savory-sweet balance," he says. "Scallops are a standout pairing. These combinations work well in salads, breakfast bowls, garnishes for entrees, and center-of-the-plate proteins." If you're willing to experiment with brown sugar and cayenne, you can also make a seasoned blend for sweet and spicy bacon. It's hard to find a dish that doesn't benefit from a lemon squeeze or a lemon rind, but bacon especially seems to go with nearly everything.