Sweet and Spicy Bacon

It's going a little overboard, I know, but I was on vacation (which is just another excuse I tell myself so all bets are off in the eating department). I think my brain must have taken a holiday too, because I somehow managed not to follow the directions on this extremely simple recipe (I sprinkled on the spiced sugar prematurely). But it still worked. I served these with scrambled eggs and english muffins. It was like a side of spicy meat candy. Good times.

SWEET-AND-SPICY BACON

Makes 6 servings

3 tablespoons packed light brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon cayenne, or more to taste

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1 lb. thick-cut* bacon (about 12 slices)

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1.      Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350° F.

2.      Stir together brown sugar, cayenne, and black pepper in a small bowl.

3.      Arrange bacon slices in 1 layer (not overlapping) on rack of a large broiler pan. Bake 20 minutes. Turn slices over and sprinkle evenly with spiced sugar. Continue baking until bacon is crisp and deep golden, 20 to 35 minutes more (check bacon every 5 minutes). Transfer to paper towels to drain.

*If thick-cut bacon is not available, regular bacon can be used but will need to be cooked in batches with slightly shorter cooking times.

barely adapted from Gourmet, September 2006

thick-cut bacon

brown sugar mixture sprinkled on top
(like I said, prematurely)

after 20 minutes in the oven (before flipping)

flipped and almost done

done (you can try to get it crispier if you want, but you
really have to keep an eye on it so it doesn't burn)

.