Bacon Rice Krispie Treats

 

Bacon Rice Krispie treats

 

I never really got on the add-bacon-to-it bandwagon. Bacon, though a wonderful thing in and of itself, doesn’t particularly cry out to be deep-fried and served with gravy, infused into vodka, or basket-woven around a slab of sausage and grilled. At least not in my world.

The idea for these came to me in a dream, though, I think, and I became a little bit obsessed with them.  So I gave them a try, and they were good. And then I tweaked the recipe and gave them another try, and they were better.

This definitely doesn’t count as health food; on the other hand, you can set these out at a gathering and pretty much guarantee they’ll be gone in just a few minutes, thereby sparing you the agony of continuing unhealthy temptation. So… why the heck not? Immerse yourself, however briefly, in the world of stunt bacon cooking.

You need to start with some brown sugar bacon. Which you’ll need to make yourself.

 

Making brown sugar bacon

 

Brown Sugar Bacon
Preheat oven to 275. Line a rimmed metal baking sheet with aluminum foil and place a metal rack on the sheet.

Put about a cup of dark brown sugar in a shallow dish. Dredge thick-cut slices of bacon in the sugar, turning to coat and patting the slices gently to encourage the sugar to adhere. Don’t go hog-wild (hee) with the sugar, because the excess will melt, drip off and potentially burn. Arrange the slices on the metal rack. You’ll need about 1/3 to 1/2 pound for this recipe. Your family will be happy to eat any excess.

Bake for about half an hour, maybe up to 40 minutes. This will seem like it is taking forever, but it will smell really good. The bacon will not get crispy at this point. When it seems sufficiently done, remove the sheet and carefully pour off the molten bacon fat into a small bowl. Using tongs, remove the bacon to a paper grocery bag or other nice sturdy absorbent draining surface. (Don’t use paper towels. They will stick to the hot sugar and ew.) Let bacon cool for about half an hour or so, during which time it will crisp up a bit.

Now you’re ready to proceed with:

Bacon Rice Krispie Treats
3 Tbsp bacon fat
2 Tbsp butter
5 cups mini marshmallows
A splash of vanilla extract
2 generous pinches kosher salt
1/2 tsp Drunken Angel or other hot sauce, to taste (optional but highly recommended)
5 cups Rice Krispies cereal (don’t try to get away with the generic kind; they’re just not as good)
About 1/2 pound Brown Sugar Bacon, chopped fairly fine

Thoroughly grease a 9×13 baking dish. Put Rice Krispies in a large bowl and toss with chopped bacon.

In a medium saucepan, combine bacon fat and butter; cook, stirring, over medium-low heat until melted. Add marshmallows, vanilla extract, salt and hot sauce. Cook, stirring constantly, just until marshmallows are completely melted. Pour mixture over Rice Krispies and stir gently to distribute.

Scrape mixture into greased baking dish. Wet your hands and pat mixture into an even layer. Let cool before serving. These are best the day they’re made, though honestly no one will complain about eating them the next day either, and they probably won’t last that long anyway.