Pig Candy Bacon With Bourbon and Maple Syrup

As a general rule, everyone loves bacon. I REALLY REALLY LOVE BACON. Especially good bacon. This recipe is a southern, slightly spicy twist, on the regular bacon that we all know and love. I have been known to eat way too much of this at a single sitting.

• 1 pound of your favorite brand of bacon - thick cut works best
• 1 Cup of dark brown sugar (must be dry)
• 2 ounces Jack Daniels Tennessee Honey
• 1/4 Cup good Maple Syrup
• 1/4 teaspoon of Ancho pepper - adjust to taste
• Aluminum foil
• Cookie Sheet
• Small mixing bowl

Instructions:

1. Pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees
2. Cover the cookie sheet with aluminum foil.
3. Set the oven rack in your broiler to about 6 inches below the top of the overn
4. Mix the dry dark brown sugar, Ancho pepper, maple syrup, and Jack Daniels Tennessee Honey in the small bowl.
5. Lay the bacon out on the aluminum foil covered cookie sheet.  Brush your mixture over the bacon.  Place cookie sheet in the broiler
6. While carefully monitoring the cooking process, cook the bacon evenly on both sides, brushing the "other side of the bacon", turning as needed.
7. After cooking the bacon, you can use a bamboo skewer to go through the bacon to make a Pig Candy "lollipop".  Be careful, the bacon will be very hot.
8. If you like your bacon a bit more crispy, turn the oven up to broil.  Watch the bacon carefully, as the sugars will burn quickly.
9. There will be little shrinkage to this cooked bacon and it tastes great cold - a sweet accent with just a hint of spice from the Ancho pepper.

This recipe is terrible for both your waistline and cholesterol.......I don't care, I love it.

Best Regards,
Steve DiFranco