Savory Meaty Mushroom and Bacon Bread Pudding

Perfect for the early coming of Fall, we made a savory Meaty Mushroom and Bacon Bread Pudding last night that had the nostalgia of Thanksgiving Stuffing with 1/10 of the work. Unfortunatley we didn't take pictures...sorry! Our version is adapted from a recipe found on Crumbly Icing who apparently originally grabbed it from Mainly Mushrooms.

I always try and use every last bit of every last thing (within reason) and that's how I first discovered the greatness of Bread Pudding. In this case we had people over three nights in a row, each night included fresh French Bread that was only half consumed. That left us with plenty of 'day(s) old' bread, that is perfect for Bread Pudding. Yay ;)

Our alterations from the original recipe account for the fact that we found the original recipe made too much filling for just four ramekins, and that one ramekin each was not sufficient for a main course.


Mushroom & Bacon Bread Pudding (Adaptation)

Serve with a protein, side salad and bold red wine to complement the rich features of this dish.

Makes 6 sides/ramekins.

2 T rosemary, minced
1/4 cup Asiago or Parmesan cheese, grated
2 oz. (250 g) guanciale or 2 slices thick-cut bacon, can be diced
1 cup chanterelles or other meaty mushroom, diced
2 shallots, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups white bread cubes (you can use whatever you have left over, but we recommend French Bread)
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups of 2% milk
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Heat a skillet over medium-high heat; add guanciale or bacon and fry until meat is brown and cooked through. Remove meat and drain on paper towels – leave the rendered fat in the pan. Cut guanciale into small pieces and put in a small bowl. Leave skillet on medium heat.

Mix rosemary and Asiago cheese in a small bowl; set aside. Whisk eggs, milk, salt, and pepper together in a medium bowl; set aside. Grease 6 6 oz. ramekins with some of the rendered fat.

Add chanterelles to the skillet and saute until tender. Combine with the guanciale pieces.

Fry the shallot and garlic until just brown; combine with mushrooms and guanciale mixture.
Combine Egg/Milk mixture with Shallot/Garlic/Mushroom/Guanciale mixture. Make sure the mixture is room temperature and finally mix with Rosemary/Cheese! Fill those ramekins!!

Bake ramekins on a foil-lined tray for 35 minutes or until set and golden brown. Let cool for 10 minutes.

Run a small paring knife around the edge of each ramekin, invert, and then re-invert onto a plate.

Enjoy!!