Black Pepper Bacon Recipes

MAPLE AND BLACK-PEPPER BACON

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°F with racks in upper and lower thirds.
• Arrange bacon slices in 1 layer (not overlapping) on racks of 2 large broiler pans (if you only have one, use a large rectangular metal rack set inside a large baking pan for the second). Bake until fat is rendered but bacon isn't crisp, about 20 minutes. Drain on paper towels.
• Arrange all of bacon in 1 layer on rack of 1 broiler pan. Brush top with syrup and sprinkle with pepper. Bake until bacon is crisp and deep golden, 20 to 25 minutes. Drain, glazed side up, on paper towels.

SMYE'S LIGHTLY PEPPERED BACON

Steps:

• Rinse pork belly and pat dry. Mix brown sugar, salt, paprika, red pepper flakes, black pepper, curing salt, and cumin seeds together. Add maple syrup. Spread the cure mixture evenly over pork belly.
• Vacuum-seal the pork belly or place it into a resealable plastic bag, squeezing out as much air as possible. Refrigerate for 7 to 10 days.
• Remove pork belly from bag and rinse thoroughly. Pat dry and refrigerate while preheating your smoker to 220 degrees F (105 degrees C) according to manufacturers' instructions.
• Place pork belly, fat-side down, onto the wire rack. Place the rack into the smoker. Add 1 fist-sized chunk of applewood and 1 chunk of hickory wood to the smoke pan according to manufacturer's directions. Smoke for 1 1/2 hours; add 2 more chunks of applewood. Continue smoking until pork belly reaches an internal temperature of about 150 degrees F (66 degrees C), about 1 1/2 hours more.
• Remove pork belly from smoker and slice as desired. Store in the refrigerator for roughly 30 days. You can also portion out the finished bacon and freeze whatever you don't plan to consume right away, as you would any other meat product. To use, simply thaw in the refrigerator and you're good to go with little loss of texture.

GLAZED BLACK PEPPER BACON

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a rimmed baking pan with 3 layers of foil.
• Arrange the bacon on the prepared baking pan in a single layer, then sprinkle evenly with the sugar and pepper. Bake until well browned, 35 to 40 minutes. Drain on paper towels and serve.

BLACK PEPPER MAPLE BACON

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil then a wire rack.
• Whisk together the maple syrup, pepper, and mustard. Lay the bacon on the rack being careful not to overlap. Brush the bacon with the syrup mixture.
• Put the baking sheet on the top rack of the oven and bake until golden and crisp, 18 to 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool slightly before serving.

OVEN BAKED PEPPER BACON

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Arrange bacon slices in 2 jelly roll or shallow roasting pans, overlapping the lean edge of each slice with the fat edge of the next. Evenly sprinkle pepper over bacon slices. Place pans on 2 oven racks and bake 25 minutes, switching pans between upper and lower racks halfway through the baking, or until bacon is golden brown and crisp. Transfer bacon to paper towels to drain; keep warm.