The Art of Bacon: A Guide to Its Glory

By Alex Guarnaschelli

As a passionate chef and food enthusiast, I have always been fascinated by the versatility and deliciousness of bacon. Whether it's pan-fried, baked, or served as a classic sliced bacon, this cured and smoked pork belly is a culinary gem that deserves our attention and appreciation.

One of the most popular forms of bacon is slab bacon, which is essentially regular bacon but has been smoked whole. This type of bacon is perfect for making French recipes like beef bourguignon or frizé salad with bacon lardons and an egg. It's also great for adding a smoky flavor to dishes like pancetta, which is another popular form of bacon. Pancetta is delicious when browned off in a tomato sauce and is often served as part of classic Italian recipes.

In addition to slab bacon and pancetta, there are many other forms of bacon that we enjoy, including Canadian bacon and turkey bacon. Canadian bacon comes from the back of the loin and is leaner than regular bacon. It's perfect for those looking for a meatier flavor without the high calorie count. Turkey bacon, on the other hand, is smoked and cured to create a delicious and healthy alternative to traditional bacon.

But what about seitan bacon? Seitan is made from wheat protein and is a great vegetarian or vegan substitute for traditional bacon. It's also gluten-free and dairy-free, making it an excellent option for those with dietary restrictions. When cooked, seitan bacon has a meaty texture and a smoky flavor that is similar to traditional bacon.

Now, let's talk about the importance of using high-quality bacon in our cooking. There's nothing like the taste and smell of freshly cooked bacon to elevate any dish. And when it comes to making your own bacon from scratch, I'm excited to share my recipe for candied bacon with you. With just a few simple ingredients – brown sugar, black pepper, and some regular slices of bacon – we can create a sweet and savory treat that's perfect for breakfast or as a snack.

To make our candied bacon, we'll start by preheating our oven to 400°F (200°C). While the oven is heating up, we'll mix together a third of a cup of brown sugar and some black pepper in a small bowl. Next, we'll lay out our regular slices of bacon on a tray and coat each strip evenly with the brown sugar mixture.

Now it's time to add a few cracks of black pepper to give our candied bacon an extra boost of flavor. We don't want to overcrowd the pan, so we'll make sure to leave some room between each slice of bacon. Once we've added all the strips, we'll place another baking sheet on top of them and press down gently to flatten out the bacon.

With our trays in place, we can pop our candied bacon into the oven for 20-35 minutes or until it's crispy and golden brown. When we lift the parchment paper to check on the bacon, we'll be rewarded with a dish that's both sweet and savory – just like my famous BLT sandwich.

Whether you're looking to add some crunch to your breakfast tray or want to elevate your BLT game, candied bacon is the perfect solution. With its smoky flavor and crunchy texture, this delicious treat can be paired with everything from fried eggs and toast to vanilla ice cream and maple syrup. So go ahead, give my recipe for candied bacon a try, and experience the glory of this culinary treasure for yourself!

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enhey I'm Alex Guarnaschelli you can see me on Alex versus America and right now we are talking about  a topic that is near and dear to my heart which is bacon in all its Glory this is a classic sliced  bacon that we know can be made in a multitude of ways it's pork belly that is sometimes salted  sometimes it's salted and smoked but essentially it's a cured and usually smoked pork belly that  is then thinly sliced this is slab bacon which is the same as regular bacon but the whole pork belly  is just smoked whole and then when it's sliced it becomes regular bacon slab bacon you can cut  up into different pieces if you're making say some classic French recipes like beef bourguignon or a  frize salad with bacon lardons and an egg that's what the slab bacon is really good for this is  pancetta I mean it's beautiful first of all but it's also delicious just browned off in a tomato  sauce the more complex forms of bacon that we see a lot Canadian bacon we see a lot traditionally  parked under a poached egg in a classic eggs benedict these three cuts the pancetta the sliced  bacon and the slab bacon all come from the belly Canadian bacon actually comes from the back for  the loin so it's really lean you can see it's meat and then the fat on the edge almost like a pork  chop and this is the belly and you can see the fat runs all the way through so it's really about what  effect you want to have more meaty like a ham and less about that delicious Smoky fat turkey  bacon this is smoked and cured turkey that is then processed into this form and you can see how far  away visually this is from Turkey so that's a lot of processing that goes on to get this product but  it is a leaner alternative if you're looking to have a bacon experience but a little less risky  in the calorie and cholesterol department and then seitan bacon which is actually seitan is  just wheat protein it's literally just wheat that is processed so this is meat-free dairy free it's  also bacon free but it's a good vegetarian or vegan substitute if you want that feel and even  that Smoky flavor you could definitely use a meat alternative like this I like kind of the class  sick bacon I'm really attached to it it also comes a little bit thicker like a slab bacon slice that  you might have in a steakhouse for example but we're gonna make something right now that is  super delicious with this classic bacon and it's going to be delicious all right I'm not sure we  can actually make bacon better than it already is so you can just fry up some bacon and stop  there or you can make my candied bacon now in here in this bowl I have 12 regular slices of  bacon and to that I'm going to add a third of a cup of brown sugar just tossing to to coat these  individual strips of bacon in the brown sugar let's add a few cracks of black pepper and then  we just lay it out oh my God this is this is fun don't overcrowd the pan we want to give room for  this bacon to Brown up and cook all nice and Candy this is something great you can just do right in  advance for breakfast tray up your bacon and just have it cook while you organize everything else  there are six slices of bacon nice and flat laid out on the tray all organized and then we build  our little sandwich which is very easy parchment bacon and parchment and then another baking sheet  the same size over it press down a little bit just to make sure the bacon is essentially flattened in  between these two trays we're gonna take this bacon and bake it for 20 to 35 minutes so cook  it for 20 lift the parchment check it out to make sure it's crisping and Browning and bake  it up to 15 minutes more until it's super crisp and browned and sugary and delicious  all right so here's the bacon once cooked out of the oven it's just beautiful look at that  glossy shiny smells like Smoky salty sweet all at the same time and to that end it's such a  sort of versatile flavor that you can go Savory or sweet with it you could put a little crumble  of this on top of a cupcake on top of a pecan or pumpkin pie put a few strips of these just next  to some fried eggs and toast to just make that breakfast feel a little bit special or you can  chop up the bacon a little bit some crumbles and just go right on top of vanilla or even chocolate  ice cream you could finish this with a little bit of maple syrup there's really nowhere this  bacon doesn't belong delicious on a BLT with the natural sweetened Tang of tomatoes this is  like that little black dress you have hanging in the closet it's just good for any occasion\n"