Candied Bacon

Last January my wife and I (yes, I'm married...Now you can rest assured that I'm not using this blog to pick up ladies) ate dinner for our Anniversary at James. James is very acclaimed in Philadelphia, and I highly recommend it for an excellent, intimate dinner. It doesn't seem to get tons of press, but it is outstanding. Anyway, last year James gained a bit of a reputation for a dessert involving candied bacon. The candied bacon dish doesn't seem to be on the menu at the moment, but it was really good. It was a sweet, salty, and smoky combination that I'd never had before, and it was also a very creative idea, which made it fun to try.

After a long week of traveling and meetings, I was looking to make something I'd never done before, without getting cooking burnout before the much anticipated Thanksgiving cook-fest (or should it be feast). Somehow, candied bacon came to mind. (I think my mind was jogged after telling some friends about James on Friday night).

I did a bit of Internet (do we still capitalize Internet?) research and found out that candied bacon seemed to be pretty easy. Just combine brown sugar and bacon and bake. Here's a look at what I did:

I used slices of center cut bacon (regular thickness), placing them in a Pyrex pan covered in tin foil.



I covered each slice with light brown sugar and then placed it in a 400 degree oven. After about 10 minutes I turned them over, cooking for another 8-10 minutes. You want them to be crispy (not chewy!) when dry.





I then placed the pieces of bacon on my drying rack (a great new purchase, by the way) and let them cool for 20 minutes or so.



The candied bacon turned out great, and it was pretty easy to make. Even my wife, a timid meat eater, loved it. As expected, the whole idea of candied bacon does not sound appetizing to many (I told some of my friends at church this morning, and the response was very mixed). Nonetheless, I recommend you try it. It would be a great party treat. In fact, I think I developed a great way to serve it more elegantly. (No, it's not yet bacon ice cream, though I hope that happens soon). I'll leave you with the suspense for now. I'll be back soon with an update. To good food . . .