Candied Bacon

My mother-in-law Rita made this amazing candied bacon for Easter that was instantly devoured. It’s Lance’s grandmother’s recipe and it truly is candy (it’s probably more brown sugar than it is bacon). 

My dad loved it so much that I’ve made some in preparation for Father’s Day brunch tomorrow. It’s really easy but takes some time since it needs 2 hours in the oven. 

I slightly revised the recipe based on the candied bacon our friend Spencer made for a potluck last month – his recipe included fennel seeds which adds a hint of a licorice taste. If you don’t like that spice, you can omit it, but I like the extra layer of flavor it adds. 

You could half this recipe and just make one pound, but it gets eaten so quickly I went ahead and made two pounds this time. You could probably use a bit less brown sugar since I had some extra, even though I really coated the bacon. 

Candied Bacon  

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds thick-cut bacon
•  1-1/2 cups brown sugar
• Heaping teaspoon dry mustard
• Heaping teaspoon smoked paprika
• Pepper to taste (can use peppered bacon if you’d like)
• Fennel seeds as garnish

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

2. You’ll need a broiler pan with a bottom tray. Put a layer of water in the lower half of the pan and bacon on the top layer touching.

3. Mix together the brown sugar, mustard, paprika, and pepper in a bowl. Spread generously on top of the bacon. Sprinkle with fennel seeds.

4. Bake for two hours. Make sure it is fully cooked (may take longer depending on the thickness of the bacon).

5. Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack. Cut into desired sized pieces & try not to eat a whole pound yourself.