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While we’ve left garlic behind and moved on to bacon as our focus, there’s nothing wrong with looking back to find a great taste to go with another great taste. Two, in fact. When I decided I would try making my own kind of candied bacon this week, I also decided I wasn’t going to use brown sugar and/or maple syrup, as many recipes call for — I was going to use honey. And garlic goes great with honey and bacon, so why not try all three together?
Well, actually, I could think of reasons not to — the honey might be too thick to brush onto the bacon, the garlic might burn, it might fall off, it might fall off and burn — but I plunged ahead anyway, and most of my fears didn’t come true. Some of the garlic did fall off when I turned the bacon over, and some of what fell off did burn. But some of it stuck in the honey, and of what did fall off, a lot roasted nicely.
The bacon comes out crispy at the edges, chewy in the middle. If you’d prefer it crispy all through, try cooking it for a few minutes before you put the honey on.
It’s essential to let the melting fat flow away from the bacon. I used my old reliable broiler pan from a toaster oven, but any large enough pan with a rack that fits onto it would do. You could use a cooling rack on top of a frying pan, for example. A brush is also essential — I used a silicone one — to spread the small amount of honey over a relatively large surface.
One of my taste testers said this would make a good BLT — if you went easy on the mayo.
- ½ pound bacon
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 clove garlic
- In a small container, mix the honey with 1 teaspoon hot tap water.
- Mince the garlic.
- Separate the bacon into slices and spread on a rack over a pan.
- Brush the upper side of the bacon with half the honey mixture.
- Sprinkle with (all) the minced garlic.
- Bake for 5-10 minutes (longer time for thick-sliced bacon).
- Turn over and brush the other side of the bacon with the other half of the honey mixture.
- Bake another 5-10 minutes or till crispy at the edges.
- Pick up any garlic that’s fallen off (unless it’s burned) and put back on the bacon.
- Drain on paper towels before serving.
