Pig Candy

During a discussion about spareribs in the Beginner's Forum, the subject of Pig Candy came up. The following is a summary based on postings by Cy Robinson, Doug D, and Tony Weisse.

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Pig Candy

* 1 lb. thick sliced bacon
* 11 ounces dark brown sugar

Cut bacon slices into quarters and separate pieces. Mix slices with brown sugar until well coated. Place coated bacon into pan and cook in smoker at 225*F for about two hours.

Modifications

* May be baked in the oven instead of in a smoker.
* Doug D mentioned cooking at higher temperatures, for example 350*F for 20 minutes.
* Doug D mentioned adding crushed pecans before cooking.
* Tony Weisse said he likes to add a dash of cayenne pepper to the brown sugar before cooking.

I tried making pig candy per the above recipe, and I wasn't happy with the results.

I used 1 pound of Oscar Meyer Thick-Sliced Bacon (the meatiest looking package I could find), cut the strips into quarters, and separated the pieces. Mixed with 11 ounces of C&H dark brown cane sugar. Placed in a cold 10" cast iron skillet and baked in a 250*F oven for 2 hours. Added 1/2 cup of chopped pecans about 30 minutes before the end of cooking.

After two hours, I removed the bacon/pecans using a slotted spoon and placed on a dish.

A large amount of liquid was left in the pan, a mixture of bacon drippings and brown sugar, which I discarded.

The large areas of fat on the end pieces were not crisp and looked unappetizing. I'm sure some people would eat those pieces, but I wouldn't. The meaty middle pieces were cooked and tasted pretty good, but of course the bacon was not crispy since it essentially stewed in liquid at 250*F.

The only reference to "pig candy" I find on the Web is a recipe from a book called "The Sweet Potato Queen's Big-*** Cookbook and Financial Planner" by Jill Conner Browne. Here's a snippet from DallasNews.com:

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Pig Candy recipe

You start with bacon ? and don't y'all just know how I purely love a recipe that starts with bacon. The fat is the whole point of the bacon. If you're interested in the red part, get a ham or something. I mean, really. So anyway, you start with bacon, and the only other ingredient is brown sugar ? and do I really need to say the dark brown kind? You just roll the bacon in the dark brown sugar and then you bake it (at 350 F. for about 20 minutes or so, depending on your oven and also how you like your bacon ? put it on a rack on a cookie sheet, and you don't even have to turn it over!) ? and voy-ola! Pig Candy!
SOURCE: The Sweet Potato Queens' Big-*** Cookbook (and Financial Planner) <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>This is similar to other recipes where bacon is brushed with maple syrup during baking in the oven on a baking sheet.

My conclusion is that this recipe does not lend itself to 250*F cooking, or to cooking in the confines of a cast iron skillet, and that 11 ounces of brown sugar is way too much. Higher heat is needed to crisp the bacon; it should be cooked on a broiler pan or a wire rack over a large rimmed baking pan, and you should only use as much brown sugar as is necessary to coat the pieces.

Regards,
Chris

We use a broiling pan so the fat can run off somewhere. Put plain bacon (whole slices, don't cut it up) on the pan and cook for about 20 minutes in a 350 degree oven. Cooking time depends on thickness of bacon and how much water was used in the curing process. Flip bacon and apply brown sugar in moderate amount (I mean, don't be skimpy, but you want to still see the meat, too!). Cook another 20 minutes or until bacon is at desired doneness.

If you don't have a broiling pan, then use a rck over another pan.

The trick is to get a glaze/crust of sugar on the bacon. To do that you need to remove some of the moisture and render some of the fat. Otherwise, the sugar crust just sort of gets rinsed off in the cooking. That's why you want to use an arrangement that keeps the bacon dry while it cooks. It's better to put the sugar on later rather than too soon.

For those who like to play with fire, you could probably cook the bacon to desired doneness, drain on paper towel, add sugar, and get out the propane torch. I'd remove bacon from the fat-soaked paper towel before using the torch, though.

I haven't tried on the WSM yet, but it seems like it would work okay. Dry pan, bacon right on the rack, WSM running at 350. Cook 20 minutes. Add brown sugar and cook to doneness. I'd probably only use one rack because of drippage.

Okay, I gave this a try today, and the results were surprisingly good! I used a thick sliced, Niman Ranch bacon (uncured), rubbed with a brown sugar / cayenne pepper mix. I set up the WSM with the water pan empty, and used Kingsford with Mesquite (about 2/3 of a chimney). The bacon cooked right on the grill at 300*F for about 30 minutes.

I think the cayenne pepper really added a lot to the flavor. Also, next time I'll try smoking the bacon partially, and then add the rub and finish cooking, as Tony suggests.

BTW, I think the key is to get the temperature up above 300*F. My guess is that just like with making candy, you want the sugar to reach the "hard ball" stage.

Chris, I recommend trying this one again!

-Richard

ps. since this really is decadent, the bacon should be cut into squares for serving.

Well...I was walking through the supermarket a while back and saw the Niman Ranch uncured, no nitrate or nitrite added, humanely raised, applewood-smoked, thick-sliced, heirloom pork, center-cut bacon. (Seriously, that's all on the label, plus more.) Reminded me of this thread, so I bought it and tried pig candy again.

I put full slices (the entire 12oz package) on a broiling pan for drainage. Fired 1 chimney of Kingsford. No water pan. Put broiling pan on top grate. Cooker ran about 330*F.

Cooked 20 minutes, then turned bacon. The slices at each end were cooking faster than those in the middle, so I swapped them.

Applied sugar mixture to slices (1/2 cup light brown sugar + 1/4 teaspoon cayenne), and cooked another 25 minutes until fully done.

Oh so tasty, and the cayenne was a nice twist.

Regards,
Chris

Warning! This stuff is addictive! I do mine in the oven unless the smoker's going anyway, then I start in the WSM for a little smokey flavor, then higher heat in the oven for the right crispy texture.

We have a similar recipe for Pig Candy, with a twist. Take a package of "Lil' Smokies", wrap each smokie in a small piece of bacon, (use a toothpick to hold bacon in place), roll or sprinkle with brown sugar. Place in some sort of large flat pan w/edges in a 350* oven for about 30 mins. or to desired crispness. You can broil them for a minute to add crispness. (be careful of splattering grease!) You can then transfer them to a crock pot for serving, if they last that long! Trust me on this, there are never leftovers of this little treat. They're AWESOME!

I haven't tried these on a smoker yet, but I'd bet they'd be good.

Rick

Chris put together a nice summary and presented "Pig Candy" as the cooking topic for the month. I have made this a number of time on the WSM now and here are some observations:

- Bacon directly on the rack works great, no need to mess up a broiler pan. Line the water pan with foil, goose the WSM up to 300-350 and you're good to go. Don't overlap the bacon, but you can really pack the rack full to start. The bacon will shrink and give you room to flip it later on.
- I put bacon on both racks when making a large batch. Most of the dripping is done before putting on the sugar, so the effect on the bottom rack is minimal. I have fit over 3 lbs. of bacon on two racks without much effort.
- I suggest a relatively thick bacon, but do not worry about buying a "premium" brand of bacon. Bacon that is extremely lean does not work well with this recipe.
- A small piece of smoke wood during the pre-sugar phase really enhances the end result. But be careful 'cause it is easy to oversmoke bacon.
- Don't be afraid of the cayenne. I have tried with and without, and everyone likes a hint of cayenne (even my "doesn't like anything spicy" daughter).

Tony

I made pig candy for brunch today using Chris's recipe and Tony's technique and it was fabulous--outright decadent. I used just the top rack--foiled water pan and about 330 degrees. I also used a 1/4 teaspoon (fresh) cayenne to 1/2 cup of brown sugar and I would use double the cayenne next time as it was barely noticeable. My 13 year old son and his friend each ate about 6 slices. I also put a slice (or 2) into the chive, mushroom and cheese omelets, which was a hit. It's a repeat recipe from now on here!

Just a comment on using the cooking grate versus a broiler pan. Since I wash the cooking grate after each use, I felt it would be easier to clean the sugary residue from a broiler pan than from the cooking grate. If I were the kind of person who burned off the grate on a gas grill or with a weed burner, then of course the broiler pan would not make sense.

Just wanted to clarify my rationale. Do what makes most sense to you.

Regarding the amount of cayenne, I'm pretty sensitive to heat, so for me 1/4 teaspoon just added a subtle "zing" that I liked. If you like more heat, then more cayenne would be appropriate.

Regards,
Chris

This is a great recipe.

I'm still relatively new to smokin' with the bullet but, here's a couple of observations I can offer:

I also wash the cooking grate after each use. Anything I can do to help make it easier is worth it. I don't have a broiler pan that fits so, I used a couple of cake cooling racks overlapped and set them inside of a 'drip pan' made out of foil.

It was sunny but a bit cool when I started (around 35 degrees) with a very slight breeze. I used the recommended one chimney of charcoal but it would only let me get to 300 at the lid. After 20 minutes, the bacon just didn't seem to be progressing as it should. I ended up firing up another chimney and dumping it in to get the heat up (I was going to do sausages later anyway). My recommendation is to keep the temp closer to the 350 mark throughout.

When I finally did pull the 'candy' off, we started munching it right away. Great stuff!!

Thanks,

Bob

OK, I gotta try this!

Will it keep and how should I store it? I might want to take some in to work a day or 2 later for friends.

Couldn't tell you about how to store the pig candy. We've never had leftovers!

Next time you guys make Pig Candy try this when done. Bring a pan of oil up to high heat. Dip the finished bacon in Pancake batter and deep fry. You want the oil to be very hot so it comes out nice and crispy. Serve with a side of Pancake syrup to dip in and ENJOY!!!

That's just unnecessary. But it does sound pretty amazing...

Can you make this on a Sunday and use it as bacon in the morning for the upcoming week?

I think deep frying ANYTHING will probably make it taste better! I made a batch of pig candy last weekend on the smoker (straight on the grate over dry water pan) and it turned out great!

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Rick Kramer:
We have a similar recipe for Pig Candy, with a twist. Take a package of "Lil' Smokies", wrap each smokie in a small piece of bacon, (use a toothpick to hold bacon in place), roll or sprinkle with brown sugar. Place in some sort of large flat pan w/edges in a 350* oven for about 30 mins. or to desired crispness. You can broil them for a minute to add crispness. (be careful of splattering grease!) You can then transfer them to a crock pot for serving, if they last that long! Trust me on this, there are never leftovers of this little treat. They're AWESOME!

I haven't tried these on a smoker yet, but I'd bet they'd be good.

Rick </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I'm going to have to try this. It sounds way too good not to eat.

Rick:

What if I make your recipe and then let them cool pull out the toothpick and wrapped them in biscuit dough. bake for about 12 minutes.

Am i getting a little too crazy?

What do you think?

I made up a batch of the pig candy this morning. The first batch I flipped while the second batch I didn't flip. I liked how the topping on the second batch melted because some of the grease that was on the top of the bacon. I didn't get too much melting of the brown sugar on the first batch that was flipped over after 20 min. Next time I might spray the topping lightly with some AJ after putting it on to make sure it melts all the way, like a candy coating. I used 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/4 tsp cayenne, and 1/8 tsp chinese cassia cinamon. The "Pig Candy" was most excellent.
EDIT: Also the next time I will either cook at a lower temp or put the topping on sooner so it all melts down and forms a candy shell on it.