The Ultimate Guide to Making Irresistable Candied Bacon
When it comes to crowd-pleasing snacks, candied bacon reigns supreme. Whether you prefer it sweet, with a kick of heat or somewhere in between, this treat is as versatile as it is indulgent. Made with thick-cut bacon, brown sugar, and an optional touch of cayenne, candied bacon is a perfect combination of crispy edges, chewy texture and an irresistable balance of sweet and salty flavors.
It is surprisingly easy to make candied bacon. It utilizes just two to three ingredients: thick cut bacon, brown sugar and cayenne. The amount of cayenne doesn’t make it overly spicy, it gives it just a little kick of heat after the initial hit of sweet. For this recipe the ratio is 1/2 teaspoon cayenne for every 1/4 cup brown sugar and 4 slices of thick cut bacon. You can add more cayenne if you want it spicier.
The bacon is coated in half the brown sugar and baked. If you have hot spots in your oven like I do, you’ll most likely have burn spots on your pan after the initial round of baking. Transfer bacon to a new parchment lined half sheet pan, flip the bacon over, cover in the remaining brown sugar and continue baking. The second round of baking is only 8-10 minutes.
Once done cooking the cool time is critical to achieving that hard candy coating. Once removed from the hot sheet pan it takes about thirty minutes to harden. The bacon is crispy around the edges, chewy in the middle, perfectly sweet, salty and absolutely addictive.
Candied Bacon
Ingredients
- 16 oz thick cut bacon 12 pieces
- 3/4 c light brown sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Line a half size sheet pan with parchment paper.
- Line bacon side-by-side on the sheet pan. Avoid overlapping if you can.
- Measure brown sugar in a bowl and add the cayenne if you want it sweet and spicy. If you want to do a mix of both regular and spicy, the measurements are as follows: for every 4 pieces of bacon you need 1/4 brown sugar and 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne.
- Spread half the brown sugar on top each piece of bacon and rub in.
- Bake on the top rack for 20 minutes.
- Remove the pan from the oven and flip the bacon. If the sugar is already burning on the pan, transfer bacon to a new parchment lined sheet pan. Be sure to flip each piece over.
- Cover in the rest of the brown sugar, pressing down on each piece.
- Put back in the oven on the top rack for 8-10 minutes.
- Remove from the oven. Transfer each piece of bacon to a fresh piece of parchment paper. Allow to harden for 30 minutes.