the hunter's lane:
wild game recipes
[candied wild boar bacon] 

 

 

 

 

 

Prep Time: 5 mins

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Cook Time: 35 mins

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Total Time: 40 mins

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ingredients

• 1-pound thick-cut wild boar bacon (substitute regular bacon, though it doesn’t sound as exciting)

• 1/3 cup pure homemade maple syrup

• 1/3 cup brown sugar or maple sugar

• Ground black pepper to taste

• Cayenne pepper, optional for those wanting with a little more kick

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Instructions

1.) Mix brown/maple sugar, real maple syrup, and some freshly ground pepper in a shallow bowl or pan. Don’t worry if the sugar stays somewhat grainy, as it will caramelize perfectly in the end. Next, baste those lovely slices of freedom with the prepared sugar mixture. If you want your Pig Candy to have more kick, add a dash of cayenne pepper to the mix.

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2.) Preheat either the Camp Chef pellet grill or your home oven to 375-degrees. If cooking on the pellet grill, you may want to add some tin foil to the drip pan for easier cleanup. If baking in the oven, place a wire rack over a foil-lined cooking sheet. The broiler pan will also work in a pinch, just so the bacon sits above the drippings. The grilling or baking process, if kept at 375-degrees with fairly thick strips of bacon, should take approximately 30-minutes.

 

3.) The key to making delectable Pig Candy is repeat basting with the sugary mixture. Basting every five minutes is ideal, but even every 10 minutes yields surprising stunning results. Regardless of how often you mop those babies, keep them on the heat until the bacon begins to crisp on the edges, and the sugars have caramelized.

 

4.) Transfer the crisp bacon to a parchment-lined tray and allow it to cool. Candied bacon can be added to many recipes -- crumble it on a salad, use it as ice cream or cupcake topping, or make the best bacon grilled cheese this side of Texas. In the end, though, we can’t help but eat it plain, because this salty, sweet, maple smothered Pig Candy is a great, non-traditional "dessert!"

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