Bison tallow Caramel Chocolate Bars, 2 ways

When I have tallow, I turn it into caramel, and then put it into homemade chocolate bars along with other toppings. 

The theme for these recipes can best be described with one word: buffalo/bison. There's the bison tallow, bison jerky, and buffalo wing seasoning. 

There's a reason I don't make my own caramels very often: it's time consuming. I didn't mention this in the video but the time it took to get that candy thermometer to reach 248 degrees Fahrenheit from the second I simmered the caramel mixture was about 45 minutes, which is just as long as it takes for the caramel to harden. And don't get me started on cutting the caramel into pieces- I ended up piercing the aluminum foil pan and cut myself in the process. Of course, all the nonstick cooking spray in the world can't help the caramel from sticking to the pan. 

On the other hand, I do love making chocolate bars(and not just because I work at a chocolate factory as my day job)- there's always chocolate left over in the bowls that I get to lick(only at home, of course)! 

There was a little fly in the ointment with the amount of chocolate I had available to melt for the twix bars- I thought I had 4 oz. of baking chocolate when in actuality I only had 2. However, I had some chocolate sprinkles, so I thought that would make up the difference, except the sprinkles didn't melt, which is why one of the twix bars doesn't look very smooth. 

Bison Tallow caramel tastes like other caramel, but compared to beef tallow caramel(see www.meatloafprincess.com/recipes--blog-posts/caramel-made-from-beef-tallow), the former is less greasy than the latter. Bison tallow is leaner than the kind that comes from a cow. 

My dad didn't try anything in this video, as caramel is too sticky for him and chocolate keeps him up at night. 

HELPFUL LINKS: 

Bison Tallow: www.amazon.com/Buffalo-Tallow-Grass-Pasture-Raised/dp/B01N7CQ12Y/ref=sr_1_10_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1500143321&sr=8-10&
Bison Jerky: www.amazon.com/Original-Natural-Buffalo-Jerky-Preservatives/dp/B00TYTIRY4/ref=sr_1_3_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1500143408&sr=8-3&
Candy Bar Mould: www.amazon.com/Freshware-CB-607BR-Silicone-Break-Apart-Chocolate/dp/B00CBGPPTC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1487534466&sr=8-1&
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Bison Tallow Caramels

You will need: 

For the cooking equipment: 

A medium saucepot
A large 3-4 quart saucepot
A candy thermometer
A square 8-inch baking dish
Nonstick cooking spray
Wax paper

1 cup heavy cream
5 tbsp. bison tallow(see HELPFUL LINKS)
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup light corn syrup

1. Put the first 4 ingredients into a medium saucepot. Bring the contents of the saucepot to a boil.
2. Once the contents are boiling, turn the flame off completely and move the medium saucepot to a cool burner. 
3. Attach a candy thermometer to a large saucepot and put the rest of the ingredients in there. 
4. Bring the contents of the large saucepot to a boil, stirring the mixture until the sugar completely dissolves. 
5. Gently swirl the boiling mixture with a spoon. Let the mixture boil until it turns a light caramel color. 
6. Once the mixture is a light caramel color, pour the bison tallow mixture in the medium saucepot into the sugar mixture. Be very careful, the bison tallow mixture is still hot! The mixture will bubble, so at this point, reduce the heat to a simmer. 
7. Let the mixture simmer until the temperature on the candy thermometer reads 248 degrees Fahrenheit exactly, stirring occasionally. If the temperature goes down, stir it. 
8. Spray a square 8-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Pour the caramel mixture into the baking dish. The caramel is very hot! 
9. Let the caramel cool at room temperature for 45 minutes. 
10. Spray a sharp knife and fork with nonstick cooking spray. Cut the caramel into 1-inch squares(ideally). Try not to pierce the aluminum foil! Put each square onto a large sheet of wax paper(given that the caramel is greasy). 
11. Wrap the wax paper around the caramel horizontally. Twist each end of the wax paper. 
12. The caramel should last 2 weeks at room temperature. Use it in a chocolate recipe, dip it in melted chocolate, or eat it as is. Bon appetit! 

For the chocolate bars:

You will need: 

For the cooking equipment: 

A large, microwave safe bowl with lid
A candy bar mould(see HELPFUL LINKS)
Wax paper 
A large plate

For the chocolate bars: 

8 oz. Baker's semisweet chocolate
Bison Tallow Caramel(see above)
Bison Jerky(see HELPFUL LINKS)
Buffalo Wing Seasoning

For the Twix bars: 

4 oz. Baker's German's chocolate(using chocolate sprinkles in place of some of it isn't recommended)
1-3 cinnamon graham cracker sheets
Bison Tallow Caramel(see above)
Bison Jerky(see HELPFUL LINKS)
Buffalo Wing Seasoning

Meatloaf Chocolate Bars

1. Break apart the Baker's chocolate into pieces. If it's hard to break apart, just put the chocolate against your chest to break it. Put each piece into a microwave-safe bowl. Put the lid on the microwave-safe bowl and microwave in 30 second intervals, until the chocolate is melted. Stir after every 30 second interval(it took me 90 seconds to melt all the chocolate). 
2. Spoon the melted chocolate into a clean, completely dry candy bar mould. 
3. Once the chocolate is in the mould, work quickly to put the toppings on: remove the wax paper from 1-2 bison tallow caramels. Then, break apart the caramels and bison jerky into flat pieces. Put the toppings on the chocolate. Sprinkle buffalo wing seasoning on top of the chocolate.
4. Rap the chocolate a few times to remove the air bubbles from the chocolate by banging it against a counter or flat surface. 
5. Put the mould in the fridge to let the chocolate set for 45-60 minutes. 
6. Demould the chocolate by bending the mould to get the chocolate bars out of it. 
7. Bon appetit!

Meatloaf Twix Bars

1. Put wax paper on top of a large plate. 
2. Break apart the Baker's chocolate into pieces. If it's hard to break apart, just put the chocolate against your chest to break it. Put each piece into a microwave-safe bowl. Put the lid on the microwave-safe bowl and microwave in 30 second intervals, until the chocolate is melted. Stir after every 30 second interval(it took me 60 seconds to melt all the chocolate). 
3. Place 1 whole cinnamon graham cracker sheet on the wax paper. Remove the wax paper from a large piece of bison tallow caramel. Place the caramel on top of the graham cracker. 
4. Top the caramel with the melted chocolate. You want all the chocolate to fully coat the caramel and graham cracker! 
5. Once the bar is fully coated in chocolate, break apart some bison jerky into bits and put the bits on top of the chocolate. Sprinkle the bar with buffalo wing seasoning. 
6. Repeat steps 3-5 to make 1-2 more bars. 
7. Place the bar in the fridge to let the chocolate set for 45-60 minutes. 
8. Once the bars have set, leave them out at room temperature; otherwise the caramel will become too hard to chew!. Bon appetit! 

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