Million Dollar Candied Bacon

Million Dollar Candied bacon, often referred to as “crack bacon,” is a sweet and savory treat made by coating strips of bacon in a mixture that will caramelize. It is a crispy, sweet, and flavorful snack that can be enjoyed on its own, crumbled over salads or desserts, or used as a topping for burgers and sandwiches.

This is delicious caramelized bacon which can be made in the oven or the air fryer.

Tips for making and using Million Dollar Candied Bacon

• Thinly-cut bacon does not work very well. Always use thick-cut bacon for this recipe.
• Granulated sugar does not caramelize well. Always use brown sugar (light or dark) – no substitutions.
• Strips can be coated with brown sugar, maple syrup or honey before baking.
• If you omit spices and decide after baking that you want to add another spice, such as  black pepper, just sprinkle it over the bacon as it cools.
• Add crumbled candied bacon to your favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe.
• Remember that bacon will crisp up as it cools.
• Garnish a bloody Mary with candied bacon.
• Crumble candied bacon and use it in scrambled eggs.
• Make it using only the brown sugar (no spices) and crumble it on top of a cake.
• Sprinkle crumbled candied bacon over the top of ice cream.
• Add to grilled cheese sandwiches!

Variations

• Omit spices and sprinkle chopped pecans or walnuts over the brown sugar before baking.
• Marinate overnight in ghost pepper sauce and maple syrup before baking. This is for the very brave only!
• Omit spices, and add a little cinnamon to the brown sugar.
• Rub the top of bacon with mustard before adding the brown sugar.
• Try adding a splash of bourbon to maple syrup, and brush this mixture over each slice.

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Million Dollar Candied Bacon

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Delicious caramelized bacon which can be made in the oven or in the air fryer.

• Author: Linda Jolly
• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 40 minutes
• Total Time: 50 minutes
• Yield: 8 servings 1x
• Category: Snacks
• Method: Oven or Air Fryer
• Cuisine: American

Ingredients

Units USM Scale 1x2x3x

1 pound thick-cut applewood smoked bacon
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cracked black pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 tablespoon crushed red pepper flakes

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Instructions

Oven

Heat oven to 375 degrees F.

Place an oven-safe metal rack on an aluminum foil-lined 15 x 10-inch (jellyroll) pan. Lay the uncooked bacon strips perpendicular to the lines on the rack so that they don’t fall through whlle baking Do not let the slices touch each other.,

In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar, cracked black pepper, cayenne pepper and crushed red pepper flakes. Stir to combine.

Sprinkle about 1 teaspoon of the sugar mixture over each bacon slice, fully coating the top of all the slices. Using your hands, gently pat the sugar onto the slices of bacon.

Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until brown and crispy. If using thinner slices, reduce baking to 20 to 25 minutes. Check often as it may take longer than 40 minutes…even up to 1 hour.

Carefully transfer the bacon from the rack to a cooling rack and let cool for 20 minutes.

Air Fryer

Heat air fryer to 400 degrees F.

In a small bowl, combine brown sugar, pepper, cayenne pepper and red pepper flakes. Mix well.

Sprinkle mixture all over bacon and pat down.

Spray air fryer with olive oil, then add bacon and fry for 8 minutes, checking halfway through at 4 minutes to see if any of the bacon needs any rearranging in order to crisp.

Notes

Photo credit: Jeffreyw on VisualHunt