A Bacon Bar: What Your Party's Been Missing

It's a food, topping, flavoring, and, for me, a party-starter. Bacon is so versatile and begs to be the canvas for so many interesting flavors. Here, I've seasoned crispy bacon 3 ways: brown sugar, honey-Sriracha, and black-pepper-chile. Guests can mix-and-match their favorite versions and pile them onto fresh biscuits, perhaps with some tomatoes and other sandwich toppers, so there's never a boring bite.

SERVING SIZE: 12 pieces of bacon PREP TIME: 10 mins TOTAL TIME: 35 mins

Ingredients

• 12 strips of thick cut bacon (I like Benton's and Wright's brands)

• 3 tablespoons brown sugar

• 3 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

• 1½ teaspoons red chile flake

• 4 tablespoons honey

• 1-2 squirts Sriracha

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

2. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil.

3. Place the bacon strips side by side on the baking sheet. 12 strips usually fit perfectly.

4. Mix together the honey and sriracha in a small bowl with a fork. Drizzle evenly on 4 of the bacon strips.

5. Sprinkle the brown sugar on 4 more strips.

6. Sprinkle the black pepper evenly on the remaining 4 strips. Finish those strips by evenly sprinkling with the chile flakes.

7. Place the baking sheet on the middle rack in the oven. Bake for 13 minutes, then flip using tongs and bake another 2-4 minutes until crispy.

8. Lay a piece of parchment the size of the baking sheet on the counter.

9. Remove the bacon with tongs and place on the parchment. Let cool 1-2 minutes before serving.

10. Place the bacon on a large cutting board. Serve along with the Parmesan Black Pepper biscuits.

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