Lacquered Bacon

Think of this sweet and savory snack as a candy bar, but with pork at its heart. How could you want anything more?We've provided measurements in the recipe below, but feel free to just eyeball the sugar and pepper amounts. And if you can't find dark muscovado sugar? Dark brown will work fine, but just know that the final result won't be quite as complex.Natural, uncured bacon is important to use here, not for the ingredient list, but because it is thicker than standard issue bacon, but not as thick as “thick-cut” bacon. Side note: "Uncured" bacon doesn't actually mean that the bacon hasn't been cured. It just means that it hasn’t been cured with the additives nitrate or nitrite, which are preservative chemicals. It still has been cured in the way that we think usually about it, which is that it has been packed with a salt-filled mixture, including celery powder. Celery contains some compounds that are a lot like nitrates, so basically this is just like any old bacon — don’t fall for the uncured thing.This recipe first appeared in the Pantry Raid video series.