Spicy Maple Bourbon Candied Bacon Recipes

SPICY MAPLE BOURBON CANDIED BACON

Steps:

• Preheat your Oklahoma Joe Highland Smoker to 275F indirect cooking. Add wood chunks for extra smoke flavor if desired.
• In your firebox, add a cast iron skillet to warm. Add the bourbon first and let simmer for 3-4 minutes. Next, add the rest of the glaze ingredients and let simmer, stirring occasionally, until it has thickened. Once done, pull off and let cool for 5 minutes.
• Lay your slices of bacon onto a cooking sheet (preferably with a grate). Lather each piece in the maple syrup glaze, crumble brown sugar over top, and lightly season with your BBQ seasoning.
• Add the bacon to the smoker and cook for about 25-35 minutes or until the outside has begun to caramelize and the fat begins to render. Once it is looking good, flip the bacon over and then glaze, crumble brown sugar and lightly season the opposite side. Continue cooking for another 25-35 minutes until it has caramelized.
• When done, pull the bacon out and let cool for 5-10 minutes (please let cool as it can be very hot!). Top with sliced jalapeños and enjoy!

BOURBON MAPLE CANDIED BACON

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Arrange bacon on a broiler pan so that the pieces don't touch or overlap. Brush healthy amounts of bourbon and maple syrup on the first side of each piece of bacon. Generously sprinkle on and pat down brown sugar into each piece. Turn bacon over and repeat this process on the other side. Lightly sprinkle the second side with red pepper flakes. Combine any leftover bourbon, syrup, and brown sugar to baste the bacon with as it cooks. Bake in the oven for 20-30 minutes, turning the bacon over after the first 10-15 minutes and basting with your bourbon/syrup mixture. Remove the bacon from the oven when the candied coating becomes shiny and the bacon has turned a reddish brown color. Remove bacon from the broiler pan almost immediately and cool on a cooling rack. Adjust the bacon after 5 minutes or so until completely cooled to keep the candy coating from setting up and sticking to the rack.