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Candied Bacon

[heart_this] · Dec 15, 2009 · 38 Comments

Candied Bacon

I have been wanting to try making candied bacon ever since I first came across the idea a long while ago. Candied bacon is essentially bacon that is coated in brown sugar and then baked until the brown sugar has melted, wrapping the salty bacon in its sweet embrace. Of course I immediatly thought of trying a maple version and I knew that both versions would be great. When I was in scouts when I was a kid, we always used to make pancakes with bacon at least once every time we went camping. When you’ve got a plate full of pancakes all covered in maple syrup it’s kind of hard to keep the bacon from getting syrup on it and the combo is really good! That got us to thinking and the next time we made pancakes with bacon we sped things up a bit by adding the maple syrup to the pan while the bacon was frying and the results were so good! It’s hard to go wrong with salty bacon covered in sweet, slightly caramelized maple syrup!
When the bacon is the star of the show like in this candied bacon, it’s time to get the good stuff, a nice thick cut of bacon fresh from the butcher rather than the shrink wrapped grocery store variety. Since I could not decide whether to go with the brown sugar version or the maple syrup version I just decided to go with both and I made half with each. The candied bacon was super easy to make and the results were nothing short of amazing! The crispy and salty bacon went so well all covered in the caramelized sweetness! I am looking forward to making this again and again! I was thinking that you could also experiment with adding other flavours such mixing some mustard in with the maple syrup.

Candied Bacon

Candied Bacon

Prep Time: 10 minutes Cook Time: 20 minutes Total Time: 30 minutes Servings: 4
ingredients
  • 1 pound thick bacon
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar (or maple syrup)
directions
  1. Line a baking sheet with foil and set a cooling rack in it.
  2. Spread the bacon out over the cooling rack.
  3. Rub the brown sugar onto the bacon.
  4. Bake in a preheated 350F/180C oven until the bacon reaches the desired crispiness, about 15-20 minutes.
  5. Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes and then enjoy.
Use in:
Bacon Chocolate Chip Cookies
Pig Candy

Bacon, Breakfast, Food, Gluten-free, Low-carb, Pork, Recipe

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Chris says

    December 15, 2009 at 3:05 am

    All the smokers just call it PIG CANDY!

    Nice job, Kevin. Throw that on a side of french toast, pancakes, or waffles and you have the ultimate comfort food.

    Reply
  2. Helene says

    December 15, 2009 at 3:49 am

    Love the idea of Candied Bacon Kevin. I would eat it in my BLT.

    Reply
  3. Jaime says

    December 15, 2009 at 4:14 am

    mmm I bet this would be good crumbled up in some chocolate chip cookies!

    Reply
  4. Rachael says

    December 15, 2009 at 4:24 am

    Ah I LOVE candied bacon! Growing up my family went on a lot of camp-outs, and one lady would always bring along some candied bacon for everyone to munch on around the camp fire :] Yum, I need to make some for old time's sake- Thanks for bringing back the memories!

    Reply
  5. Cooking with Michele says

    December 15, 2009 at 4:28 am

    Have you ever tried bacon with chocolate? It's on my list to try, and just wondering if you've given it a go yet! (PS have you seen my new site? finally ditched blogger for wordpress…)

    Reply
  6. Julie says

    December 15, 2009 at 4:58 am

    You have no idea how much I want this! Yumm-O

    Reply
  7. Memória says

    December 15, 2009 at 6:47 am

    This looks great! I think I saw this on serious eats a lonnnng time ago.

    Reply
  8. pinguil says

    December 15, 2009 at 9:54 am

    you have a good idea! also i'm was scout from 1980 to 1990!!

    Reply
  9. Eve says

    December 15, 2009 at 10:11 am

    I've been trying to explain to my Husband for ever why Bacon, Pancakes and maple syrup work but he is an English man set in his ways that savory and sweet don't go together. Maybe this will change it!

    Reply
  10. Joanne says

    December 15, 2009 at 11:16 am

    Wow. This sounds incredible. I've never heard of it before. But I think this is definitely something I need to try in my lifetime. I love sweet and salty and can you get any sweet/salty-er than candied bacon? Probably not.

    Reply
  11. James says

    December 15, 2009 at 11:47 am

    Should this really be allowed? Just too decadent.

    Love the idea of putting the maple syrup in the pan with the cooking bacon – always tastes better on a campfire. Ever tried it with chocolate pancakes? The ultimate.

    Reply
  12. James says

    December 15, 2009 at 11:49 am

    @Cooking with Michele – with chocolate it's awesome!

    Reply
  13. Mommy's Kitchen says

    December 15, 2009 at 12:24 pm

    Pig Candy is one of my favorites.

    Reply
  14. The Italian Dish says

    December 15, 2009 at 12:31 pm

    I started making this last year for special breakfasts and my sons love it. We were also at the award winning "Beast" last summer in Portland, Oregon and they served a strip of candied bacon dipped in chocolate, as a treat when they gave you your bill. It was incredible!

    Reply
  15. Anonymous says

    December 15, 2009 at 12:51 pm

    Jim-49 said
    I said Kevins sorta like me,slow on somethings,but sooner or later,we'll rock the boat!!"LOL"!! Its sorta hard to find anything on a pig,thats not good.I've been waiting to make this,got a friend with a slaughter house,and he makes some of the best smoked meat(no liquid or fake adds),and its getting time to make the trip,about 150 miles round trip.Looks Great!!

    Reply
  16. La Table De Nana says

    December 15, 2009 at 1:06 pm

    My girls love this at Christmas.. yours looks great..ours has pecans and a touch of cayenne..good too:)

    Reply
  17. Pam says

    December 15, 2009 at 1:21 pm

    Just think of putting this bacon on one of your pizza crust….wholly yum and don't forget to invite me…lol!!

    Bee Happy and Enjoy!

    Kevin, thank you SO much for stopping by…really appreciate it!

    Reply
  18. NikiTheo says

    December 15, 2009 at 1:35 pm

    I heart candied bacon! I especially love it chopped up in chocolate chip cookies…

    Reply
  19. George Gaston says

    December 15, 2009 at 1:45 pm

    Bacon! Now this is my kind of candy. There are so many ways to incorporate it into my favorite foods. Many thanks…

    Reply
  20. Katelyn says

    December 15, 2009 at 1:55 pm

    Next time, try mixing a pinch of cayenne into the brown sugar mix – it really helps give the whole shebang some great depth of flavor. Love your site!

    Reply
  21. ♥peachkins♥ says

    December 15, 2009 at 2:17 pm

    let me try this!!

    Reply
  22. Jennifer says

    December 15, 2009 at 3:32 pm

    I LOVE this!!! Dad used to make it every family brunch!

    Reply
  23. Megan says

    December 15, 2009 at 5:51 pm

    OMG that looks so so delicious!!! Candied bacon egg and cheese anyone?!!!

    Reply
  24. teresa says

    December 15, 2009 at 6:05 pm

    that's a candy i could eat all day!

    Reply
  25. Becky says

    December 15, 2009 at 7:30 pm

    well the 'big thing' at this year's state fair was chocolate covered bacon and it was delicious and I am not a chocolate eater. The chocolate needs to be a thin coating though because what I had was almost more chocolate than bacon. I like to taste the salty bacon flavor equally with the chocolate. They served it frozen btw. I am going to try your recipe

    Reply
  26. Ben says

    December 15, 2009 at 8:19 pm

    I love the sweet/savory combination, but I have never tried candied bacon. I must confess that the idea intrigues me.

    Reply
  27. Catherine says

    December 15, 2009 at 11:53 pm

    Candied Bacon…is there anything better?! Yummy!

    Reply
  28. iconoclast says

    December 16, 2009 at 4:14 am

    would this preserve the bacon, as in, say, the case of candied ginger?

    If so, in your experience, how long would this last?

    Reply
  29. Jenn says

    December 16, 2009 at 5:33 am

    Oh, Kevin. Dear Kevin. Why must you tempt me so with this. I'll take a bunch of these and nothing else. Bacon-y goodness.

    Reply
  30. Kevin says

    December 16, 2009 at 11:24 pm

    iconoclast: I would finish the bacon shortly after candying it. it will probably last a few days in the fridge.

    Reply
  31. pigpigscorner says

    December 19, 2009 at 12:40 pm

    This makes a good snack! yum yum!

    Reply
  32. Moonypants says

    December 26, 2010 at 8:57 pm

    You really need to fix this post, Kevin. One pound of bacon really only makes one serving, sir. It's too good to share!

    Reply
  33. Mr Bacon says

    February 27, 2011 at 2:42 pm

    Ahh, so you just rub the the sugar into the bacon? I've always put the sugar in a bowl and added a bit of liquid to it before spreading it over the bacon.. The advantage of that is that you can create a nice wee flavour combination by using, for example, whisky – just a tbsp per 100g of sugar or so.

    Your method certainly seems neater, though, just like your bacon cookie recipe I'll be giving this a go. Cheers for sharing!

    Oh, by the way, I forgot to mention in my comment on your bacon cookie recipe that oatmeal cookies are fantastic for adding bacon to. Chocolate chip oatmeal cookies, that is!

    Reply
  34. Jessica says

    March 29, 2011 at 6:02 pm

    I am making this today to go with the bacon cookies. Thanks for sharing. 🙂

    Reply
  35. Anonymous says

    March 11, 2012 at 5:59 am

    Try whiped cream on a strip of bacon. I do it every day at work. Its not as good as candied bacon but its simple an unbelievebly good!

    Reply
  36. Lord Bacon says

    April 23, 2012 at 1:15 am

    We made this for burgers, it was delicious. Added a little bit of cayenne and cinnamon.

    Reply
  37. Kevin says

    April 25, 2012 at 7:18 am

    Lord Bacon: Great additions!

    Reply
  38. Rob in VA says

    January 20, 2013 at 1:58 pm

    Not really as good as I had hoped. And my kids, for whom bacon is the best thing we can serve, really didn't like it either. I wanted it to be something it isn't, I guess

    Reply

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