Billionaire’s Bacon

If you think you need to increase your dietary bacon intake, here’s a great recipe:

Take one pound of bacon slices and blot dry with paper towels. Then, put 1 1/2 cups light brown sugar into a wide, shallow dish. Place the bacon in the dish and coat both sides with brown sugar, using your fingers to firmly press the sugar onto each strip. Lay the bacon on an oiled, aluminum foil lined cookie sheet. (You could skip the aluminum foil but you might end up buying a new cookie sheet because of the burnt sugar.  Also oil the foil, not the cookie sheet.) Cook the bacon in a preheated 425 degree oven for 10-15 minutes, turning once. When correctly done, bacon should be brown and lacquered. Transfer to a lightly oiled sheet pan to cool.  Inspired by a recipe from Saveur magazine. 

What you will end up with is a salty, sweet, and smoky treat.  It is so delicious.  It’s good enough to eat it on its own but other uses could be a topping for pizza, a salad topper (especially spinach salads), or in a pasta (perhaps with tomatoes, garlic, and some caramelized onions).  You could also vary the recipe a bit-add some seaonings to the brown sugar.  Coarsely ground black pepper is a natural choice as would be cayenne pepper, cumin, fennel seed, or perhaps even ground mustard (I haven’t tried anything except the black pepper).