Been craving this for awhile. Candied bacon. If you haven't had it, well... have it. Not too hard, make it tomorrow.
Step 1: Start with quality bacon. There really is no bacon besides this bacon. All other bacons are pretending. I know the picture is upside down. Leave me alone, I'm tired.
So, Sunny Valley maple bacon. They also sell their end and pieces pack, which is what I use to make my pulled bacon sliders, but that's for another post.
**Important note** Dig through the packages. You will find several that have 3,4, sometimes 5 more slices than the other packs. Buy those. Then, sometimes the planets align and THERE IS A BONUS SLICE HIDDEN IN THE BACK OF THE PACK! Tonight was a good night.
Step 2: In a large bowl, combine 2/3C brown sugar and black pepper to taste. Toss approximately 1 pound of the bacon in the mixture until well coated.
Step 3: Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and lay the coated bacon out flat to cover the sheet.
Step 4: Cover the bacon with another layer of parchment, and then press another baking sheet of the same size down on top. It should look similar to this:
Put the whole sandwiched assembly into an oven preheated to 325 degrees. Bake it for 25 minutes and when it looks like the picture below and then remove the top baking sheet and top layer of parchment and continue baking. After about 10 more minutes, the bacon will be a nice brown color and be glistening. Some of the pieces around the edge will start become black. This is where you want to pull it out.
Step 5: Remove the pan from the oven and take the bacon off and put it on some clean parchment on the counter to cool.
***DISCLAIMER*** This is the part where if you don't read it, then later you'll want to sue me, or at least come over and slash my tires. But you can't, because I'm writing this disclaimer and you have to pay attention to it so you don't want to sue me or slash my tires. Make sure you run some hot water in your sink so there is hot water ready. Also make sure your wife isn't away from home leaving you with three kids that will distract you with questions about three different versions of Zelda at the same time. As soon as you complete step 5, IMMEDIATELY drain all liquid off the pan into the garbage can. Then IMMEDIATELY begin to wash the pan in the hot water. If you have ever made candy, we have reached something close to hard crack stage here, and if you leave the pan on the counter for even a few minutes, you will have turned your pan into candy. You will hate me forever. Don't hate me forever. Clean the pan right away.
This is what the bacon will look like when it's done. Let it cool for a few minutes while you IMMEDIATELY clean the pans, and then eat all of it. Unless you have a lot of self control. Then you might save a piece for tomorrow.
If you do have a piece left for tomorrow, store it in an airtight container between layers of parchment. Keep it in the refrigerator. Eat it tomorrow.
