Pepper Jelly Candied Bacon Recipes

PEPPER JELLY CANDIED BACON

Steps:

• Heat oven to 375ºF.
• Cover rimmed baking sheet with foil; spray with cooking spray. Place bacon in single layer on prepared baking sheet. Bake 15 min., turning after 8 min. Remove baking sheet from oven; carefully pour off drippings. Discard drippings. Brush half the jelly evenly onto both sides of bacon slices. Return to oven.
• Bake 20 to 25 min. or until bacon is crisp, turning and brushing with remaining jelly every 10 min. Transfer bacon to wire rack sprayed with cooking spray. Cool 10 min. or until firm.

CANDIED BACON

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
• Put bacon slices in a bowl, season them with pepper and toss with the brown sugar. Cover a baking sheet with parchment or foil and arrange the bacon in a single layer on top. Sprinkle any sugar left in the bowl over the bacon. Top with another layer of parchment or foil and top it, squarely, with another baking sheet. The baking sheet will flatten the bacon as it cooks.
• Place the tray in the center of the oven and bake for 20 minutes. Check the bacon by lifting the top tray and parchment. If it is not golden brown and fairly crispy, resist the temptation to turn up the oven temperature, and cook it for 10 to 15 minutes longer. Check it again. Keep in mind that when you remove the tray and transfer the bacon to a serving platter or individual plates, the bacon will "crisp" up a little more. Be patient!

CANDIED PEPPER BACON

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°. For this recipe, you will need to use a baking rack & baking sheet that fit together. Line the baking sheet with nonstick foil or foil sprayed with non-stick coating. Also spray the baking rack with a nonstick cooking spray. Place the strips of bacon onto the baking rack, evenly spaced in a single layer. Top each strip with about 1 tablespoon of brown sugar and a moderate sprinkling of fresh cracked pepper. Bake in the preheated oven ((on the middle rack)) for 20-25 minutes until the bacon is evenly golden brown & crisp*. Once the bacon is perfectly cooked, remove it from the oven and allow it to cool for 7-10 minutes before removing from the baking rack. This step will allow the sugar to harden, thereby crisping the bacon. Once this step is complete, the bacon is ready to be taken off the rack and served**. Cut into pieces or use whole.

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.

CHEF JOHN'S BACON JAM

Steps:

• Place bacon in a large, heavy-bottomed pot and cook over medium heat until bacon is crispy and the rendered fat is foaming, about 10 minutes. Pour bacon and rendered fat into a strainer placed over a bowl to drain fat. When fat is drained and bacon is cool enough to handle, remove bacon to a cutting board and finely chop.
• Return pot to medium heat; drizzle 2 teaspoons reserved bacon fat and butter in pan. Saute onions and 1 teaspoon salt until soft and translucent, 7 to 10 minutes.
• Stir brown sugar, sherry vinegar, 1 teaspoon thyme leaves, black pepper, and cayenne into onion mixture; add bacon. Stir water into bacon mixture and cook until jam is a brick-brown bacon color and has a jam consistency, 10 to 15 minutes.
• Remove from heat and stir balsamic vinegar, olive oil, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon thyme into jam; stir until shiny and heated through.

CANDIED BACON

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• In a large pot over medium-high heat, bring the bourbon, 2 cups water and loose tea to a simmer. Drop the bacon cubes into the pot and continue to simmer until the bacon is cooked through and the liquid has reduced.
• In a shallow bowl, combine the brown sugar, coffee, cocoa, salt and espelette. Using a slotted spoon, removed the bacon cubes from the bourbon mixture and toss with the sugar and spices. Reserve the bourbon mixture.
• Place the coated bacon cubes in a glass baking dish and bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and place on wire cooling racks set over lined sheet trays. Spoon the leftover bourbon mixture over the bacon cubes. Cool to room temperature and wrap individually in wax paper.