Bacon, tossed in a spicy brown sugar seasoning, sprinkled with chopped pecans and baked.
Brown Sugar Bacon
When I first posted Pig Candy in the early stages of my original blog, nobody seemed to know anything about it. Now Candied Bacon, Brown Sugar Bacon, or as Ms. Jill Conner Browne, Head Queen of THE Sweet Potato Queens calls it, Pig Candy, seems to be all over the place, with a wide range of variations.
She's from Mississippi, ya know.
Now, me, I never need an excuse to eat bacon. I could go the rest of my life without a lot of foods, but don't take away my bacon! The Cajun is the same way when it comes to bacon.
But still, who thought to put brown sugar and bacon together?
You know those "times" where you just gotta have salty-sweet?
Just Genius.
To kick it up a bit, I throw in some chili powder, spicy dry mustard and a bit of Slap Ya Mama Cajun seasoning in with that brown sugar. If you want a little extra bite, mince some pickled jalapenos and add those to the top of the bacon before you bake it.
Talk about some good!
To make it kinda all holiday-style you could even dip one end of each cooked and cooled piece in some chocolate and sprinkle a bit of finishing sugar on top. Now we're talkin'!
As Ms. Jill says, you just might think you're about to ascend directly into heaven.Here's how to make Pig Candy aka Candied Brown Sugar Bacon.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. For easy cleanup, line a jelly roll pan with aluminum foil. Place an oven safe rack on top and spray liberally with non-stick spray; set aside.
To season, I'm using brown sugar, dry mustard, chili powder and Cajun seasoning.
For the bacon, this is my favorite brand. Yes, it costs a little more, but it's a high-quality bacon in my opinion, and so worth it!
Combine the brown sugar and seasonings.
Place the brown sugar, dry mustard, chili powder and Cajun seasoning in a Ziploc bag. Add the bacon and toss a few strips at a time until well coated.
Lay the coated bacon strips on the rack.
If using pecans, chop them up. I'm using my handy dandy chopper to chop up some pecan halves.
You'll want them fairly finely chopped.
Add pecans to the remaining brown sugar mixture after you've coated all the bacon, and then sprinkle them on top of the bacon. Sprinkle any remaining brown sugar mixture on top of each piece of bacon.
Bake at 350 degrees F for about 30 to 45 minutes, or longer, until cooked through. Let the bacon cool on the rack or use tongs to transfer to a clean sheet of foil or parchment paper in a single layer.
Eat as is for a snack or with a meal, use on sandwiches, crumble over a salad or on top of homemade vanilla ice cream.
Use candied bacon at breakfast, on sandwiches and burgers, or crumble and use as a garnish on top of salads, soups and deviled eggs, or in baked goodies such as cupcakes, muffins and brownies.
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