It all started innocently enough when President’s Choice sent me these Pita Crackers with Sea Salt. I thought this was going to be an easy product to test but then I fell down the foodie rabbit hole.
These are super robust and slightly smoky-tasting pita crackers. Very lightly seasoned with sea salt for a typical cracker, I wanted to come up with a way to make them shine.
I thought, what better way to test them than use them for eating this Cedar Plank Brie? Now that would be different!
Black Label Bacon Marmalade Spread
Totally not realizing the Brie came with its own Memories of Tuscany Sauce, I thought, why not top it with some Black Label Bacon Marmalade Spread? I had heard more about this product than any other in the last little while so I thought, perfect!
Product Testing
So this Warning: Risk of Fire immediately freaked me out. I looked on the back of the packaging for instructions on how to make the Brie and it says that the plank must be soaked for a minimum of an hour and you can only barbecue it. “Do not prepare in conventional oven.”
CRAP!
We do not have a barbecue. I hemmed. I hawed. I analyzed. I paced. I considered abandoning the idea and then said…
“Screw it!”
I was determined to “make it work” somehow.
Warning, do not do this at home!
After soaking the plank for an hour in water I heated up a cast iron grilling skillet until pretty damn hot. I let the plank rest and sizzle on the pan until it started to scorch. I did not want to fill the house with smoke so I flipped it over and let the other side get hot too.
I got out the Brie and topped with the bacon marmalade. Yum!
Then I put the bacon-heavy Brie on the plank. The Brie was cold from being in the fridge so I preheated the oven to 350F.
You can kind of see a “waft” of smoke in the upper left hand corner. When that happened I put the pan in the oven, expected it to continue to smoke.
It didn’t.
I kept it in there for a while but did not want the Brie to start to melt. I had it in there for around 10 minutes.
Foodie Results
The pita crisps worked perfectly! Just the right size for this treat. Due to the smokiness of the bacon marmalade, I am not sure how much of the smokey flavour got into the Brie. The marmalade was waaaaay sweeter than I was anticipating. I am still going to have to do testing on that one. It was almost too sweet for me. In fact, I ended up adding the Memories of Tuscany Sauce to the Brie because I liked it so much more. My sister Jamie, once used to the sweetness of the marmalade, totally loved it with the Brie.
I love Brie but my mom found this one to taste like goat cheese. According to the product information page, this Brie is made with pasteurized milk. I am gathering that is cow’s milk? They do have a goat’s milk Brie but in the list of ingredients it does specific goat’s milk.
Product Review
Do not buy the plank Brie unless you have a barbecue. It is regularly priced at $8.99 which is not cheap. This is one of those “wow” products you want to buy and impress guests so if that is what you are looking for, I give this a four out of five wooden spoons product. I would have given it more but even in the Insider’s Report it does not clearly say that you really must use a barbecue.
The pita crackers were excellent for this type of application and only $2.49. They also come in Roasted Onion, Garlic & Herb as well as Black Olive & Feta. I personally would love to also try them. If I like them plain, I will probably love them with more flavour. I give the seal salt version four and a half out of five wooden spoons.
The bacon marmalade? I am not sure. Marmalades are supposed to be tart, so far this tastes more like a jam to me. Definitely a beautiful bacon flavour but so sweet. I have to find another application for it before I give a review. I am thinking of maybe using it on burger night?!
Hated the bacon marmalade. Tried it many ways. Tooooo sweet for a burger, or cheese or anything – for me.
Wow Lucy! And you know, people are saying the same thing on Facebook now. What a shame! I got a whole jar of the stuff and have to figure out what to do with it now. Thanks for letting me know your opinion!
You could cut it with citrus fruit (whatever you have on hand: lemon, lime, orange, grapefruit): citrus would mate well with the bacon/marmalade flavours, while cutting down on the sweetness; also, because these fruits are juicy, the spread won’t be so thick and cloying.
That’s a really good point! I think lemon would be a good addition for sure because it sure is sweet.