We all know a bacon lover. I have a friend who gets bacon themed presents every year. From soap to beer, if there’s bacon in it, he’ll either buy it or will receive it as a gift. Rick and I love bacon, too, but we’re not quite that fanatical about it. We do love to try new recipes, though, and this bacon granola recently came to our attention.

That’s right, granola. Marketed as a health and energy food and loaded with fat and sugar. What’s not to love, right? And as with all things, moderation is the key to enjoying snacks like bacon granola. We’ll talk about the how to make it in a minute.

My thoughts on The Bacon Bible

First, let’s talk about the source of the recipe. It’s from The Bacon Bible (more than 200 bacon recipes you never knew you needed) written by Peter Sherman and published by ABRAMS books. They have kindly provided me with a copy in exchange for my review.

Chef Sherman is the owner of BarBacon in New York City. A bacon centric restaurant requires lots of recipes and that’s what you’ll find in The Bacon Bible. While Americans generally think of bacon as cured smoked pork belly, other parts of the world prefer the shoulder and you’ll also find bacon made from other animals. For that reason, there are recipes which include Canadian bacon and turkey bacon, among others.

For those interested in making bacon of all kinds, there are instructions at the very beginning of the book. My son has recently acquired a smoker and has been browsing through this section. It’s a long process, but very little hands on time is required.

Once we have the origins and methods for creating bacon squared away, the discussion turns to the many methods for cooking bacon. Then we get to the recipes. Lots of recipes. Over 200. There’s bacon cooked in many ways, sausages made with bacon, sauces and rubs which include bacon, cocktails made from bacon infused liquors, snack and sides, soups, salads, sandwiches, entrees, breakfast, brunch, desserts and even a section with bacon less recipes that are perfect companions for the cured meat.

You can’t go wrong with this comprehensive guide to all things bacon!

You don’t have to make your own bacon to recreate the recipes. In most cases your favorite brand will work just fine. Here’s just a sample of what’s available in The Bacon Bible:

Horseradish Bacon Mayonnaise
Bacon White Russion
Bacon and Potato Raclette
Bacon Ramen (made with bacon stock)
Bacon Loves Mac and Cheese
Pineapple-Jalapeno Coleslaw (to serve with bacon)
Bacon and Bourbon Cornbread
Candied Bacon Chocolate Chip Cookies

The recipes are easy to follow and written with the home cook in mind. Many have a drool worthy photograph to further tempt the reader to the kitchen.

I chose to make the bacon granola in part because I had a half container of oats leftover from another recipe. (Check out the recipe for gluten free seed butter cookies using oats here. )

Making Bacon for the Bacon Granola

Our favorite way to cook bacon is on a tray in the oven. It allows us to cook an entire pack with minimal fuss.

Line the baking tray with foil to help with clean up.
Arrange the strips of bacon on the tray.
Set the oven temperature to 350F/180C, then set the tray in the cold oven.
As the oven heats the meat will cook and the fat will render. Turn once or twice.
When the bacon is cooked the way you like it, remove the tray from the oven and immediately drain the bacon on paper towels.
Any fat that accumulates on the baking sheet can be poured off to use later. If you don’t need the fat, let it cool until mostly solid, then remove the foil and fat from the tray and discard.

We’ve found we tend to burn the bacon if we start with the oven at temperature. That’s why we start in a cold oven.