“Candy is dandy,” goes the saying. But candied bacon is even dandier.

Just ask my wife. This morning, she announced she would like candied bacon to go with her eggs for breakfast.

Well, you know the other saying: “Happy wife, happy life.” So candied bacon it is!

Fortunately, I had a package of organic, thick-sliced, cob-smoked bacon in the refrigerator. I grabbed some maple syrup and brown sugar (equally organic) and fired up the griddle.

So who first created candied bacon? One predecessor may have been “pig candy”—pioneered on the competition barbecue circuit by pit masters who crusted pork belly with brown sugar, black pepper, and cayenne, prior to an hours-long smoke in their offsets. Martha Stewart got into the act in the early 2000s with sugar- and spice-crusted bacon baked crisp in the oven. But that effort paled next to the “Millionaire’s bacon” introduced (and trademarked) at the Sweet Maple restaurant in San Francisco.

You know what I think? Candied bacon had no single progenitor. Like fire, it arose in many places independently, because sweet + salty + smoke = edible paradise every time.

How to Make Candied Bacon on a Griddle

Which brings me back to the wife-pleasing candied bacon I made this morning. It’s super easy. All you need is bacon, maple syrup, brown sugar, a griddle, tongs, and a wire rack.

Step 1. Heat your griddle to medium-high. Open a 12-ounce package of thick-sliced bacon and fry one strip to grease the griddle. (Figure on 2 to 4 minutes per side, rubbing the bacon across the griddle so the fat will grease the surface.)

Step 2. Spread out the remaining bacon on a platter. Place 1/4 cup maple syrup in a small bowl and using a basting brush, brush each strip of bacon with the syrup on both sides.

Step 3. Spread out 1 cup brown sugar (light or dark—your choice) in a foil pan. Dip each strip of syrup-glazed bacon in the brown sugar, turning to coat both sides. (Add more sugar as needed.) Arrange the sugar-crusted bacon strips on the griddle.

Step 4. Fry the bacon until sizzling and darkly browned on both sides, 2 to 4 minutes per side, turning with tongs.

Step 5. Transfer the bacon to an oiled wire rack over a drip pan. Let it cool slightly or to room temperature. It will crisp on cooling.

We served the candied bacon with my wife’s scrambled farm eggs, but it’s also delicious with French toast, on a BLT sandwich, crumbled over baked potatoes and salads (hum—what a cool flavoring for potato salad!), and, yes, even ice cream sundaes. Really! (See the recipe in my book Man Made Meals.)

But best of all, candied bacon makes my wife happy, and that’s the dandiest of all!

Note: In addition to the brown sugar, some people like to add black pepper, cayenne, or their favorite barbecue rub. Just saying!

Recipe

Candied Bacon on a Griddle

By Steven Raichlen

Thick-sliced bacon brushed with maple syrup, coated with brown sugar, and griddled until sizzling and darkly browned.

Ingredients

• 1 12-ounce package thick-sliced bacon
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1 cup light or dark brown sugar, plus more as needed
• Optional: black pepper, cayenne, or your favorite barbecue rub

Instructions

1. Heat your griddle to medium-high. Fry one strip of bacon to grease the griddle, 2 to 4 minutes per side, rubbing the bacon across the griddle so the fat greases the surface.
2. Spread out the remaining bacon on a platter. Place the maple syrup in a small bowl and, using a basting brush, brush each strip of bacon with the syrup on both sides.
3. Spread the brown sugar in a foil pan. Dip each strip of syrup-glazed bacon in the brown sugar, turning to coat both sides. Add more sugar as needed. Arrange the sugar-crusted bacon strips on the griddle.
4. Fry the bacon until sizzling and darkly browned on both sides, 2 to 4 minutes per side, turning with tongs.
5. Transfer the bacon to an oiled wire rack over a drip pan. Let it cool slightly or to room temperature. It will crisp on cooling.

The post How to Candy Bacon appeared first on Barbecuebible.com.

“…bacon is in its terminal stage, clinging to relevance, grasping at any opportunity to cash in on its dwindling cachet as its 15 minutes come to an end.”

So wrote Seattle journalist Erica C. Barnett in May 2009, in the alternative newspaper The Stranger.

Well, Ms. Barnett, you got it wrong. Time to eat crow, preferably wrapped in a bacon weave.

Yes, cured and smoked pork belly is still one of America’s favorite flavors, an exceedingly popular meat at supermarkets and butcher shops from coast to coast. At breakfast it sits beside eggs, toast, pancakes, or potatoes. On a hamburger it contributes smoke and crunch. Wrapped around vegetables, chicken, fruit, or scallops, its rendering fat bastes whatever lies beneath it. Crumbled over salads or soups, a small amount can flavor an entire dish. Even bacon fat itself becomes an ingredient, carrying its smoky character into eggs, beans, cornbread, vegetables, gravies, stews, and sauces.

“Fry” it on your outdoor grill or griddle and avoid messy spatters and lingering odors.

Here are our favorite ways to enjoy this versatile meat.

Make a Bacon Weave

Have you yet to try the impressive bacon weave, a savory cloak that elevates meatloaf, pork loin, and the Thanksgiving turkey?

If not, find concise directions and tips for success here. It’s easy and is guaranteed to impress friends and family.

Make Bacon Jam

We read that 69 percent of U.S. restaurants feature bacon on their menus, some in the form of bacon jam.

It’s a bougie condiment you can make yourself. Find the recipe for Bacon Jam here.

Make Bacon Bourbon

Bacon isn’t limited to the plate. You can even put it in your glass.

Our Bacon Bourbon uses rendered bacon fat to infuse bourbon with smoke. Sip it straight or use it for Manhattans and Old Fashioneds. Better still, garnish the cocktail with a strip of bacon.

Bacon-Wrapped Onion Rings

Wrap thick slices of sweet onions with thin-cut bacon for a porky twist on onion rings.

Bacon on a Stick

Thread bacon on bamboo skewers and grill at 375 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes per side, or until done to your liking.

Serve with burgers or other grilled sandwiches. These also make good stir sticks for Bloody Marys.

Bacon-Wrapped Corn

Spiral bacon slices around ears of sweet corn.

Bacon-Wrapped Fruit

Wrap wedges of fruit—peaches, cantaloupe, or pears—with bacon and grill to your liking.

Make Onion Bombs

Follow our directions for Onion Bombs—a blessed marriage between onions, bacon, and ground meat.

Make Your Own Bacon

Make your own bacon! It’s easier than you think and can be on your table in as little as two days.

Our 48-hour homemade bacon method shows you how.

The post Baconpalooza: 9 Ways to Grill With Bacon appeared first on Barbecuebible.com.