Pig Candy Candied Bacon Food

PIG CANDY (CANDIED BACON)

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400F degrees. Cut the bacon in half.
• Line a baking sheet with foil and then place a cooling rack on top. Spray rack with nonstick cooking spray.
• Place bacon strips on top of the rack. Take a basting brush and brush hot sauce over the bacon.
• No basting brush? Just shake a few drops on each piece and spread it out with a butter knife or the back of a spoon.
• Sprinkle bacon with brown sugar and freshly cracked black pepper.
• Bake for 10-20 minutes (how long you cook will depend on how crispy you want your bacon.)

PIG CANDY

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350˚ F. Place 2 cups light brown sugar in a pie dish. Gently press 12 to 14 slices of applewood-smoked bacon (not thick-cut) into the sugar until mostly coated. Line a baking sheet with a wire rack and spray with cooking spray. Arrange the bacon on the rack. Bake, rotating the pan halfway through baking, until the bacon is super crisp and golden, 30 to 50 minutes, depending on the thickness. Let cool on the rack.

CANDIED BACON PIGS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
• Wrap each little sausage with 1/3 slice of bacon, and secure them with toothpicks.
• Place the appetizers on a large baking sheet and sprinkle with 3/4 cup of brown sugar.
• Bake in the preheated oven until the sugar is melted and bubbling, about 40 minutes; turn the appetizers after 20 minutes.
• Remove the appetizers from the baking sheet with a slotted spoon, and place into a slow cooker. Sprinkle the remaining 3/4 cup of brown sugar and the five-spice powder over the smokies, and drizzle with the cola. If desired, add hot sauce to taste.
• Set the cooker to High, and cook 4 hours. Serve warm.

PIG CANDY BLT

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place the brown sugar in a pie dish. Gently press each slice of bacon into the sugar until coated (there can be small patches of uncoated bacon). Line a baking sheet with a wire rack and spray with cooking spray. Arrange the bacon on the rack. Bake, rotating the pan halfway through baking, until the bacon is super crisp and golden, 30 to 50 minutes (depending on the thickness of the bacon). Remove the rack from the pan and let the bacon cool on the rack.
• Meanwhile, heat a large skillet over medium heat. Place the vegetable oil and onions in the pan and gently cook, stirring only occasionally to let the sugars develop, until the onions are a deep golden brown, about 30 minutes. If necessary, deglaze the pan with red wine a couple of times. Season with the vinegar, salt and pepper and set aside.
• Combine the mayonnaise, barbecue rub and hot sauce in a small bowl to make an aioli.
• Build the sandwiches: Season the tomato slices with salt; cut the bacon slices in half. On each toasted bun, place a layer of caramelized onions, followed by about 6 half slices of bacon, a tomato slice, a romaine leaf and a nice schmear of the aioli on the bun top only. Close and serve with extra aioli on the side.