Candied Bacon

Vegans, look away! Who doesn’t like bacon? Communists. That’s who. This candied bacon requires some time to cook, but it’s worth it. Chewy, crispy, salty, and just the right level of sweetness and heat.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 tsp ground red pepper
black pepper to taste

HARDWARE

Baking sheet
Baking rack
Aluminum foil
Silicon brush
Tweezers/some sort of mechanism to flip the bacon

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 350.
2. In a bowl, mix the syrup, sugar, vinegar, red pepper, and black pepper. The black pepper is to taste, but I found that more is better. Just taste as you go!
3. Line your backing sheet/cookie sheet in aluminum foil. Don’t skip this step unless you’re a masochist. Then place your baking rack onto the foil lined sheet.
4. Place your bacon strips on the rack so that they have some room to breathe and aren’t crowded on top of each other. Bacon doesn’t like to be crowded.
5. Place the bacon into the oven for 10 minutes. Then remove, flip the bacon, and cook for another 5 minutes.
6. After you remove the bacon from the oven,  using your silicon brush, coat the bacon in the sauce, flip, and coat again. We’re focused on thin layers so that it won’t drip. Then, place the bacon back into the oven for 5 minutes.
7. Repeat the previous step for at least 6-8 times or until the desired level of color is achieved (it takes me ~12 coats before the bacon is where I personally enjoy it). Keep in mind that the bacon will crisp as it cools – so don’t use that as a guide for ‘doneness.’
8. Remove the bacon from the oven and remove from the rack. I recommend placing the bacon slices on a sheet of parchment paper as it will prevent the sticking to the rack.
9. Enjoy

SEMI-PRO TIPS

• Let the bacon cool before you eat it. That sugary goodness is molten lava when it hits your mouth.
• To clean the rack, flip it upside down in the cookie sheet and fill the cookie sheet with water to the brim. Let it sit for a while and the sugars will dissolve into the water, making it 100% easier to clean.