Maplecandiedbacon Recipes

MAPLE-CANDIED BACON

Steps:

• Arrange bacon in a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 15 minutes. Remove from oven; drain fat. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees. Pour maple syrup over bacon; flip to coat. Bake, flipping bacon and rotating pan halfway through, until bacon is golden brown and syrup is thick, about 35 minutes. (Keep a close eye on it for the last 10 minutes.) Transfer bacon to parchment using tongs. Let cool to harden.

CANDIED BACON

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Mix brown sugar, rice vinegar, maple syrup, and black pepper in a small bowl.
• Place bacon slices on cooling rack set over a baking sheet.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes, turn slices, and bake another 5 minutes.
• Remove bacon and brush both sides with brown sugar mixture. Return bacon to the oven and bake another 5 minutes. Repeat basting every 5 minutes until bacon is browned and crisp, about 35 minutes.

MAPLE CANDIED BACON

Steps:

• Preheat your oven to 350°F.
• Wrap a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil and top with a wire rack.
• In a large bowl, add the maple syrup, brown sugar, Dijon mustard, Kosher salt, and cayenne pepper. Mix well.
• Add the bacon to the bowl and toss gently with your hands. Make sure that all of the slices are evenly coated.
• Place the bacon in a single layer onto the wire rack.
• Bake in the center of the oven for about 20 minutes. The bacon will be a bit brown, but will most likely need to bake for another 10-15 minutes. It should look slightly dark (not burnt) and crispy. If you take it out too soon, the texture will be chewy. Be patient!
• Remove from the oven and cool for 5 minutes on the rack. Don't let them sit too long or else they will stick.
• Once cool enough to handle, you can break the bacon into chards (you'll have about 32 pieces). Alternatively, you can leave them whole.
• Serve at room temperature.

MAPLE-CURED CANADIAN BACON

Steps:

• Stir together water, salt, brown sugar, Instacure, and vanilla in storage tub until solids are dissolved, about 3 minutes, then add maple syrup and stir until dissolved. Add ice and stir until cure is cold (ice may not be completely melted; keeping liquid cold slows salt absorption).
• Add pork to cure, then weight with a large plate to keep submerged. Chill, tub covered with a lid or plastic wrap, 36 hours.
• Rinse pork and pat dry, then discard brine.
• Prepare grill and smoke bacon:
• Open vents on bottom of grill and on lid. Remove lid and top rack from grill, then center disposable roasting pan on lower rack. Add 6 cups hardwood sawdust to pan.
• Light 5 briquettes in chimney starter. When briquettes are fully lit (covered completely with gray ash and glowing), transfer with tongs to sawdust, spacing evenly.
• When sawdust begins to smolder, replace top rack and arrange pork pieces on rack about 1 inch apart. Cover grill with lid, then insert thermometer into a vent hole in lid to monitor air temperature, which should be 80 to 120°F. (If temperature rises above 120°F, remove 1 or more briquettes or uncover grill slightly until temperature falls. If temperature falls below 80°F, light 1briquette and add to sawdust.)
• Smoke pork, adding 1 cup sawdust to roasting pan and stirring with tongs every 11/2 hours to ignite unburned sawdust, 8 hours. Cool completely, then chill, wrapped in plastic wrap, until ready to use.
• Cut finished bacon crosswise into 1/8- to 1/4-inch-thick slices (or roast whole; see cooks' note, below) and fry in a nonstick skillet over moderate heat, turning, until browned. Transfer to paper towels to drain.
• Available at The Sausage Maker (888-490-8525).

MAPLE CANDIED BACON

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
• Line a rimmed baking sheet with heavy foil. Place a baking rack over the lined sheet tray and arrange the bacon slices across the rack next to each other, not overlapping.
• In a small bowl, whisk the maple syrup and mustard. Generously spoon over the top of the bacon, and bake 12 to 15 minutes. Turn the bacon over and baste with syrup mixture. Bake an additional 5 to 10 minutes, or until the bacon has reached desired crispiness.
• Carefully remove the pan from the oven. Sprinkle hot bacon with a pinch of finely ground black pepper. Let the bacon rest on the rack for 5 minutes.