Candied Bacon Recipe
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This thick cut candied bacon recipe can be made on your grill, smoker or right in your oven! No flip required.

How To Cook Bacon
There are many ways to cook your bacon depending on how you like it. Crunchy, chewy, sweet, spicy. You name it! Many people will cook bacon differently depending on how they’re using it. As a salad topper? You’re probably looking for crunchy bacon so you can crumble it. As a side to pancakes & eggs? Maybe chewy bacon is your thing.
In this recipe we’ll be making candied bacon which will be slightly chewy, slightly crunchy and absolutely delicious. Our candied bacon recipes brings salty and sweat together with a kick of spice. This can be made the day before and stored in the fridge or the day of for the freshest, best taste.

Cooking Candied Bacon
For this recipe you need a package of thick cut bacon, brown sugar and red pepper flakes. The red pepper flakes do bring a nice kick so leave these off if serving to kids. We typically will do half with and half without so our entire family can enjoy.
You will also need a sheet pan with a wire rack. This allows the grease to drip into the pan and the bacon to cook a lot slower. If you place bacon directly on your grill (or oven rack) without a pan, the cooking time will be much shorter and the clean up will be much more complex.
The pan and wire rack we use in this recipe are below.
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Candied Bacon Instructions
Ready to get started! Lets go 🙂
To make candied bacon you’ll need to preheat your pellet grill, grill or oven to 300 degrees. While that is preheating, lay your bacon out on the wire rack in your sheet pan. Using you fingers, spread brown sugar on bacon, flip and then repeat. Add red pepper flakes if you’d like some spice and then place in the smoker to cook for 10 – 15 minutes.
The bacon will not look crunchy when you pull it out. It will however harden as it cools off. It is EXTREMELY IMPORTANT that you allow you bacon to cool off as the hot sugar will burn your mouth.
@thesmokedkings A new way to eat your favorite food 🥓 Pellet grill bacon coming to the smokedkings.com soon. #bacon #smoked #pelletgrill #pitbossnation #smokedbacon #brownsugarbacon #breakfastideas #brunchtok #grilltok #smokertok #foodtok #feedme ♬ original sound – thesmokedkings
Candied Bacon Recipe
Candied Bacon Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 package thick cut bacon
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- optional, red pepper flakes
Instructions
- Preheat smoker, grill or oven to 300 degrees.
- Lay a wire rack inside a sheet pan and lay bacon strips on top. These can over lap but try to keep them separated if possible.
- Using your fingers, rub bacon with brown sugar. Flip. Rub the other side with brown sugar and top with red pepper flakes.
- Place sheet pan with bacon into grill. Let cook for 15 – 20 minutes. Bacon will begin to caramelize. Do not over cook. Bacon will harden once removed from the grill and allowed to cool
- Serve after cooled or store in air tight container in the refrigerator.
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