I’ve only made Candied Bacon a handful of times because it can be a pain in the butt. However, when you do make it, it doesn’t last long! Our recipe uses Maple Syrup, Brown Sugar, and Bourbon. We finish the bacon with Red Pepper Flakes to give it a kick! We’re adding this to our Caesar recipe tomorrow as a “snack!”
Setup
Unless you want to be scraping burnt sugar and grease from the bottom of your cookie sheet, take the time to get the setup done right. Line your cookie sheet with heavy-duty foil and then put a wire rack over top. You can coat the rack with cooking spray, but I don’t usually find that necessary. When you lay the bacon out, make sure it isn’t touching. It can be close, but not touching.
You want to coat the bacon generously with the glaze. It will drip off the edges, which is why you put foil on the pan. You want there to be a fair amount of sugar syrup on the bacon. This is NOT healthy! It’s Candied Bacon. Just go with it!
Baking
Giving baking times for bacon is hard. It will depend a lot on how thick your bacon is, how much fat is in it, how consistent your oven temperature is, and how quickly you flip and brush it. 13 minutes on the first side might only mean 5 minutes on the second for thinner bacon. It could be as much as another 13. You want the bacon to start to crisp and the sugar around the edges to caramelize. It will firm up once you let it sit.
| This recipe is part of our Canadian Week. |
Candied Bacon with a Kick
Ingredients
- 12 pieces Thick Cut Bacon
- ¼ cup Brown Sugar
- ¼ cup Maple Syrup
- 2 oz Bourbon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F
- Line a baking sheet with foil and place a wire rack over sheet
- Place the bacon on the wire rack, ensuring it isn't touching (depending on the size of your rack and the bacon you may need to do this in two batches)
- In a bowl mix together the brown sugar, maple syrup and bourbon
- Brush sugar bourbon mixture generously on the side of the bacon facing up and sprinkle with red pepper flakes (the more flakes the bigger the kick)
- Place the bacon in the oven for 13 minutes then remove and flip over
- Generously coat the other side of the bacon and sprinkle with more red pepper if desired then return the bacon to the oven for 8 – 12 minutes
- Check the bacon after 5 minutes, depending on the thickness it might be getting close, you want it to be just starting to get crispy
- Remove the bacon from the oven and allow to cool, it will firm up as it cools
Delicious