Sriracha and Honey Bacon

We have a long running love affair/addiction to bacon. It’s a permanent member of our weekly shopping list. Usually we cook up a package to have on hand to eat for breakfast, crumble over a salad or add to a sandwich. We don’t get fancy with bacon as a rule. At least we didn’t. One day sriracha and honey bacon entered our lives.

It all started when I was doing research on food gifts and all these flavored bacons showed up in my Pinterest feed. Some appealed more than others, but sriracha and honey bacon pushed my “intrigued” button. It hits all the right notes: sweet, spicy and bacon.

If there’s a secret to making this or any other type bacon it’s to cook it on a foil lined baking tray and to start it in a cold oven. The foil lined tray helps with cleanup and it’s easy to collect the drippings if you want them for cooking. Letting the bacon warm up with the oven helps the fat to render without over cooking the meat. It slows down the process and allows for consistent results.

Since we like to have cooked bacon on hand it’s easy enough to put a tray in while the oven’s heating for another purpose, like roasting vegetables. When you want to make a tray of sriracha and honey bacon you add a couple more steps to the process.

How to make sriracha and honey bacon

First, make a glaze of honey and sriracha. I like a ratio of 2 tablespoons honey to 1 tablespoon sriracha but that’s a guesstimate. In reality it’s a matter of squirting the ingredients into a bowl in amounts that look right. Stir together and make adjustments.

After preparing a baking tray with foil and arranging the bacon slices on top, brush each piece with the glaze. Place the tray in a cold oven and begin to heat to 375F/190C. Give it 10 minutes, then turn the bacon and brush the glaze on the other side. When the bacon is cooked to your liking remove it to a rack or plate to cool, repeating the glaze if desired. Don’t leave it to cool on the tray as the fat will pool on the bacon in an unpleasant way (ask me how I know…)

This results in a bacon that is chewy and flavorful rather than crisp. If you prefer crispier bacon wait until closer to the end of cooking time before glazing.

Sriracha and Honey Bacon makes a fun food gift. Make it the morning of the day you intend to give it, then wrap it in parchment paper and tuck it into a decorative box. It will keep in the fridge for up to a week, although it will be at its best on the day it’s made.