Candied Bacon

Directions

1. 1
   Preheat oven to 400°.
2. 2
   Line half-sheet cookie pan with parchment paper or foil (for easier clean up; not required). Set wire rack on top.
3. 3
   Spread brown sugar on a plate. Press bacon into the sugar, coating both sides. Dust off excess clumps if they form.
4. 4
   Lay bacon slices on the wire rack. I can fit eight comfortably on my sheet. The bacon will not shrink up as it does in a pan, so don't crowd the rack with too many slices.
5. 5
   Bake in the oven, turning once part of the way through cooking time. I'd say it took about 20 minutes for the bacon to crisp up, but not become overly crispy. Feel free to cook it longer if you prefer bacon without a slight chewy texture.
6. 6
   Sprinkle the slices with chipotle powder. This is optional. You can omit it completely, but I like the kick to counter the sweetness. You might consider simply cracking black pepper on it, or perhaps using cayenne or another spicy flavor.
7. 7
   Let the bacon rest and cool until you can handle it. It might stick to the rack from the sugar hardening. Just be gentle. However, if it breaks it's not a big deal since serving this by the slice seems awkward and threatening to some!
8. 8
   Break into pieces, place in a bowl, and serve! I do not recommend making this too far in advance of serving it; certainly not the day before. I'd say a few hours is fine. Don't cover it because you don't want it to soften at all (if you cooked it for a semi-crisp texture).
9. 9
   Another option is to dip the pieces into a high-quality dark chocolate and chill. People raved when I did this.