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Bacon for a Crowd

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Photo by Alex Lau

Whether you're hosting a group brunch or building BLT's for an army, these two sweet-and-salty toppings will add a little more oomph to your bacon.

Recipe information

  • Yield

    Serves 8

Ingredients

For the bacon:

2 pounds thick-cut bacon

For the Chile–Brown Sugar Rub (optional; makes enough for 1 pound of bacon):

1/4 cup (packed) dark brown sugar
4 teaspoons chipotle chile powder
4 teaspoons smoked paprika
1 teaspoon kosher salt

For the Maple-Mustard Glaze (optional; makes enough for 1 pound of bacon):

1/4 cup pure maple syrup
2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Place racks in upper and lower thirds of oven; preheat to 400°F.

    Step 2

    If making Chile–Brown Sugar Rub: Whisk brown sugar, chile powder, paprika, and 1 tsp. kosher salt in a small bowl.

    Step 3

    If making Maple-Mustard Glaze: Whisk maple syrup, mustard, cayenne, and remaining ½ tsp. kosher salt in another small bowl.

  2. To make plain bacon:

    Step 4

    Divide bacon between two wire racks set inside large foil-lined rimmed baking sheets. Bake, rotating baking sheets front to back and top to bottom halfway through, until brown and crisp, 35–50 minutes (depending on the thickness of the bacon). Transfer to paper towels to drain.

  3. To make flavored bacon:

    Step 5

    Follow directions above, but generously sprinkle bacon with rub or brush with glaze about 5 minutes before it is done cooking. Rub should be melted and bubbling and glaze should look thick and caramelized.

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