Candied Bacon

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After years of working day shift and trying to figure out that magical formula which will allow me to burn the midnight oil yet allow me to get up in the morning and seize the day, I am now a morning person. Without fail each morning I have been waking up at around 4:30 am and my brain and body are like “Shia LeBeaouf”…Just do it!

At first I would work a few rows of a yarnthing, read a few pages of my book or fool around with my phone hoping it would relax me enough to go back to sleep. Sometimes I would get drowsy enough to doze on the couch to later be greeted by The Librarian or The Bee as they would putter about to start the day. However this new norm now includes me wired and doing stuff in the breaking Dawn.

My hope is to transform these early mornings into a workout routine. I still hold on to the dream of starting my summer days with a workout for me before my time and attention are demanded elsewhere but  have been experiencing some wicked back pain following a car accident. The back pain has been forcing me to keep my workouts low impact to none (OK, none. I feel like Frankenstein’s Monster as I lurch through the day so the idea of a run is still just an idea) but I know the day will come when I am running through West Philly like some kind of runner gal person.

US of Bacon

Anywho I’m up and have been channel surfing and I found a channel called Destination America. This channel seems to be dedicated to shows about hauntings, the paranormal and monsters for my scaredy cat self BUT today I was gifted (yes gifted) with a mini binge of a show called US of Bacon” and omahgah BACON!!!!

Yes, yes. I have to limit the bacon I eat (sigh) but I can still look!

US of Bacon is a one season show that features, well, bacon. Todd Fisher, the host of the show, is a chef who has a bacon bucket list (swoon!) and travels around the country to showcase unique recipes and uses of bacon. Each episode of the show  features Todd as he road trips to cities across America in search of the most mouth-watering, stomach-growl-inducing, sensory-overloading bacon creations kitchens have to offer.

According to the website TV Food Maps there were 45 restaurants featured on the show, 8 from PA and three in Philly (I may do a little more than look…hush).

With my new diet and lifestyle, I have been working on really making a plan to eat better. I dislike using the word “better” because it always feels like unsaid is that something is to good enough (y’all…i get into my head! Send help) I have been making more conscious choices to make better choices about what I am going to eat, I am paying better attention to labels and it’s been an adjustment.

On our last supermarket run we found some low sodium bacon and made up a batch of candied bacon to have with dinner.

Candied Bacon

To make candied bacon we used

Oscar Meyer Lower Sodium bacon

McCormick Crushed Red Pepper Flakes

Wholesome Sweetners Organic Light Brown Sugar

We covered a baking sheet with parchment paper and laid out strips of bacon.

The bacon was covered with brown sugar and a liberal dash of red pepper flakes.

The sheet of bacon was placed into a cold oven and we cooked it 360 degrees for 19 minutes.

The results:

A crispy sweet and savory topping for a baked potato!

A few years ago my BIL and I attended a Bacon festival and this is where I learned that the deliciousness of candied bacon existed. On that day we ate so much bacon that I joked that October 4, 2014 would forever be known as the day that Rachee and BIL ate themselves into bad health and well, yeah.

Yo. That candied bacon. We may have stood online another 20 minutes for another batch of three. #swinestrips #morningpork with mr @andstarringasherself

A post shared by Rachee Fagg (@sayitrahshay) on Oct 4, 2014 at 3:14pm PDT

Moving on.

This is a simple recipe which took about 40 minutes including prep and cooling time to create.

Do not use paper towels to drain your bacon. I did and the towels stuck all over the food (because duh, melted sugar. I was clearly NOT thinking.

If you don’t like spicy, go easy with the use of red pepper flakes. I went a little crazy and there was  huge kick.

I do want to try this bacon on a burger or added to a salad. The sweet and spice was pleasant combination. The bacon was not crisp. it’s chewy but not in that undercooked way that can be unsatisfying. This was meaty and filling and I was satisfied with only two slices (normally I would eat way more).

Parchment paper is your friend. Clean up was a snap and the pan did not need to scoured or soaked to clean the melted sugar.

Tell me…candied bacon yay or nay? Should bacon be sweet and chewy or crunchy and crisp? Also, what other ways can I use this bacon? I have a BLT on y list, as a topping for pizza and added to a brunch. How else can I get my bacon on?

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