Bacon.... with a kink

Bacon.... has a special place in our hearts.  Like chocolate, coffee, whiskey, and beer.... it seems to strike a chord deep within our souls.   Perhaps it represents survival in the face of adversity. An energy rich food that stores well and blah blah blah.

Mostly, it just tastes really darn good.

Most of the time, we just cook up some bacon by whatever means we are used to, and then snarfle it all up.  Yeah... it makes it to the breakfast plate, or onto a sandwich, usually... but some of it always gets snatched up as 'testing' or 'delivery charge' or 'Because I'm the Dad' (or because I am cute!).

Sometimes, in advanced cases of Baconosity, we'll use bacon as a flavoring in some delicious dish. Crumbled into the mix for a great burger, perhaps.  Used in a creamy salad dressing, to disguise the fact we are eating food that food eats (vegetables honey, they are called vegetables). Something like that.

What we seldom do is change the bacon itself.  We don't treat it like any other meat, using spices, rubs, or marinades to help it's flavor explode.  Why should we?  Bacon is... bacon.  It IS flavor. That's it's nature.  It doesn't need help, and it's flavor is already explosive enough.

Yeah, about that..... I'm not one to let the bear sleep when there are so many perfectly good sticks laying around. (You sure do love to poke the bear!)

Towards that end, here's something I've been working on.  A rub for bacon.  Just like a rub for ribs, and serving the same purpose.  Flavor accentuation, and creating a memorable food experience.

The rub is fairly simple. 

• 2 Tablespoons of light brown sugar
• 1 Heaping teaspoon of Ancho Chili powder
• 1 Level teaspoon of Vic's Garlic Fix
• 1 Level teaspoon of Onion Obsession
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt flakes
• 3/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

The spices came from The Spice and Tea Exchange in Lancaster.  You don't HAVE to buy your spices there.... but you know you want to.

Mix well, and hand rub onto thick sliced bacon.   I chose slab bacon I sliced myself, and do the rub down in a big mixing bowl.  Just work the rub in till every slice is well coated.

To cook, this rubbed bacon requires baking on a rack. This keeps it from sticking or burning, and lets it crisp up oh-so beautifully.  30 minutes at 375 worked for this batch, but that can be varied to get your desired level of crispness. Unlike frying bacon in a pan, roasting on a rack gives you plenty of safe leeway before it all goes to crunchy burnt.

We like to let it cool before eating, so the brown sugar rub crisps up nicely.

Not only is it a favorite here, but the %$^$!#%^ parrot will fly across the house to steal every bit she can!