In preparation to make the ultimate chocolate bacon cupcakes, I both listened to your comments and did a little research on my own. I stumbled upon caramelizing bacon – something I’d never tried or even seen done before. Sugar + bacon? This was something I had to try!
It was amazing! Look at that shine – the bacon had a layer of fairly solid (not dripping) yet still chewy, not crunchy, syrup coating it. The inside was meaty and savory. If you stretch the cooking time longer than I did (8 minutes per side), it would probably get more crisp.
I saw many different, very similar variations of caramelizing bacon recipes, and sort of combined them all. The cooking times may vary according to the thickness of your bacon, and the amount of brown sugar you will need will also depend on how many pieces you want to make. Just to try this out, I only made 2 slices and used around 1/2 C of brown sugar.
I also added some extra sugar on top of the bacon once it was already coated and unintentionally made bacon flavored caramel! The sugar spread across the parchment paper and, once cooled, became shards of savory caramel. This would be a great garnish for a bacon dessert.
Some interesting variations I saw also add spices to the brown sugar – cinnamon, nutmeg or cayenne pepper. The cinnamon and/or nutmeg would be a nice compliment, maybe to serve with French toast at brunch. Cayenne would add a whole other dimension to the bacon; salty, sweet, savory, AND spicy. Definitely worth trying in the future!
Caramelized Bacon
- Bacon slices – as many as you want (I used 2)
- Brown sugar – as much as you need to evenly coat bacon (I used around 1/2 C)
Preheat oven to 375°F.
Line a casserole dish (or a baking pan that has raised edges) with parchment paper.
Sprinkle brown sugar onto a plate. Lay bacon strips in sugar, one at a time, coating and patting down sugar evenly onto both sides with fingers. Hold up over plate and lightly shake excess sugar off. Pat more on as needed to cover bare areas.
Lay coated bacon strips in pan so they are not touching.
(If you want to make some bacon flavored caramel, add some extra sugar on top of the bacon slices. Allow pan to cool around 10 minutes and let the sugar harden. Carefully peel the caramel off the parchment paper.)
Bake for about 8-10 minutes, then flip and bake another 8-10 minutes, depending on how crispy you like your bacon and the thickness of your slices.
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10 Comments on Caramelized Bacon
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[…] into making the ultimate bacon chocolate cupcakes and I discovered something so much better than caramelized bacon: chocolate covered bacon! How did I not think of that […]
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[…] 28, 2010 in Dessert, Meat, Recipe After doing research, trying out some new things, and using your ideas, I’ve come up with the Ultimate Bacon Chocolate […]
Chris
April 21, 2010 at 7:22 pm (15 years ago)I have to say, that while I’ve read quite a few recipes for candied bacon, the idea itself is still quite hard to take in. Though given that I love honey ham, it shouldn’t be that great a leap of faith. The bacon flavoured caramel does sound intriguing though.
Stephanie
April 21, 2010 at 7:29 pm (15 years ago)It does sound strange at first, although it wasn’t as big a leap as chocolate bacon cupcakes were at first for me. It’s actually really good and not weird! Give it a try and come back to tell me what you think.
hannah @ thepastrykook
April 21, 2010 at 7:37 pm (15 years ago)wow. this actually sounds good! b: oh, and thanks for coming by my blog!
cheers!
Stephanie
April 22, 2010 at 6:28 am (15 years ago)Thanks for stopping by Hannah!
denise @ quickies on the dinner table
April 21, 2010 at 8:59 pm (15 years ago)I’ve eaten a Chinese delicacy called “Bakwa” which is grilled, really sweet and sticky sheets of pork not unlike meat jerky. It’s delicious and not terribly different from this caramelised bacon so I’m pretty sure this will be delicious too 🙂
Stephanie
April 22, 2010 at 6:33 am (15 years ago)I’ve never heard of bakwa – I’d love to try it! The candied bacon probably is a similar flavor profile.
duodishes
April 22, 2010 at 4:36 pm (15 years ago)We’ve done this before, and it is so good. Your cupcakes are going to love you.
Stephanie
April 22, 2010 at 5:47 pm (15 years ago)Haha I hope they do! I’m thinking about dipping bacon in chocolate too. I’ve never tried it, but it’s gotta be good!