Watch Me Make It!

I’m going to show you how to bake one of the best foods in the world in your oven or smoker. The beauty of this is that we're making bacon even better with this Apple Pie Candied Bacon recipe.  It’s got all of the flavors you’d expect and hope for just by hearing the name Apple Pie Candied Bacon.  

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The flavors of this apple pie candied bacon recipe are nothing short of extraordinary.  You get the smokiness from the bacon, combined with the sweet and savory of the apple pie filling and seasonings that go into it.  You can clearly see how there was no better than than 'Apple Pie Candied Bacon' for this recipe

The sugars in the apple pie filling will glaze and caramelize and on top of the delicious apple pie candied bacon makes this an unbeatable treat for any occasion. If you want some more sweetness drop in a tablespoon, or couple teaspoons of brown sugar or maple syrup. Flavor to your taste.  Serve this up at your next holiday party, backyard BBQ, or the big game/tailgate.  This is also a perfect brunch recipe that both surprises and thrills everyone at the same time.

Let's Prep:

Apple Pie Candied Bacon coming soon!

The first step to any successful cook is to make sure that you’re making it as easy as possible for yourself by having all of your ingredients within reach to make it nice and easy to zoom through the instructions.  This lets you spend less time searching and preparing and more time cooking and eating this apple pie candied bacon recipe!

Start by preheating your smoker (or heat oven) to 350F - either a pellet or charcoal smoker will be good with this.  Once that’s lit and heating up, grab a pound of bacon, I prefer bacon slices on the thicker side for this, however, cuts of bacon vary wildly from brand to brand so a “Middle” cut between thin and thick is ultimately best if you can find it.  

My Spicy Candied Bacon Recipe

Once your smoker is lit, you’ll lay down your bacon strips side by side so they are very close, but not touching.  There needs to be even a small amount of airflow between the slices to cook evenly.  If there’s any overlap the slices won’t cook correctly on those ends.

After that’s ready, grab the apple pie filling and put that into a bowl.  Add in the rest of the ingredients of the apple pie candied bacon recipe, the cinnamon and a teaspoon vanilla extract in a small bowl (large bowl works too) and mash together after you sprinkle in your seasonings and stir well.  Mash it all together with a potato masher or fork. I'm a fan of the potato masher because it's quick and doesn't take a lot of effort.

You'll notice I didn't mention putting it all in a food processor or blender, and the reason for that is that we don't want it to be completely emulsified, but rather to have small pieces of apple left in it to sit on the bacon when cooking and eating.

Let's Cook:

Now that you've got the bacon laid out, and the apple pie mixture made, place bacon on a wire rack (you'll want a pan or baking sheet underneath. If you use a baking sheet, put some parchment paper or foil on it for easier clean up. Spread the apple pie candied bacon mixture across the top of the bacon using a spoon or brush. I prefer a silicone brush as it grabbed onto the small apple pieces, and you're able to spread out the mixture to make it even.

That's important here is to have the apple pie candied bacon mixture spread as thinly and evenly as possible. Avoid big globs at all cost as it won't cook evenly. Once everything is coated evenly, place the wire rack into your smoker. (Now you can see why I use the wire rack so much!)

Cooking time will vary based on a number of factors including (but not limited to) the thickness of your bacon, the evenness (or lack thereof) of how your cooker heats, and the temperature at which the food actually went into the smoker. Plan on about 30-35 minutes, but be sure to check on it at about the 20 minute mark to make sure that nothing is beginning to burn or char.

If the edges start to burn, that's when it's time to pull them out. You'll be ultimately looking for a deep amber color for the apple pie candied bacon, but definitely not black.

My Apple Pie Candied Bacon Recipe

Let's Eat:

Once the apple pie candied bacon has cooked through it's time to remove from the smoker. Let it rest on the wire rack for 10-15 minutes. This step is really important because this is where the bacon will begin to firm up. Additionally, you don't want 350F degree bacon going directly into your mouth - that won't be any fun.

Recipe Notes:

• Store any leftovers in the fridge in an airtight container
• The apple pie mixture can be used on a number of different foods - brush on some puff pastry or biscuits for an awesome treat.
• If you're looking for a creative use of leftovers, use some of the bacon crumble on a salad, or in a Bloody Mary.
• For a more complex flavor with a bit of spice, sprinkle on some black pepper when they come out of the oven. A small amount of sea salt goes a long way as well.

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