Sugar & Spice Bacon

Check out Food Network Spiced Bacon for the original recipe. But this one is easy to come up with your own personal riff on any spice combination that will compliment whatever you're putting your bacon onto or into (even if it's just your mouth!).

Ingredients
12-16 oz bacon
¼ C light brown sugar*
2 t water
2-3 T spices

* Light brown sugar, or...go dark if you want to highlight the flavor. If that mapley-molasses
   flavor is not at all complimentary to the spices you want, sub in plain white sugar.

Directions
Preheat oven to 375°F.

Place bacon strips in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet (a 'jelly roll pan').* Bake 9-10 minutes (12-14 for thick cut bacon) until just begining to crisp.

* For easy clean-up, but a little more work on the front end: Line rimmed baking sheets with foil and set a metal rack (cooling racks work great) on the baking sheet; place strips of bacon on the rack.

While it's in the oven... Combine sugar with water; microwave in 15 second intervals, stirring each time, to dissolve the sugar. Prep spices if needed.

When bacon begins to crisp...  Remove from oven; use tongs or a fork to flip bacon. Use a pastry or small BBQ brush to coat top side of bacon thinly with sugar-water mix. Sprinkle with spices. Return to oven for another 8-12 minutes or desired crispness. Drain on paper towel lined rack or plate.

Spice combos to try...
* dk brown sugar with chili powder
* cinnamon chai blend
* jerk seasoning (purchased blend or make your own)
* cumin, coriander and peppercorns (grind or use whole seeds)
* rosemary & black pepper
* Chinese 5-spice (use soy in place of water; thorw in some sesame seeds too!)
* bourbon BBQ (use bourbon in place of water; add a little squirt of ketchup, chili powder, ground mustard...)