Cola Candied Bacon (+ Jalapenos!)

Last weekend I decided to get a little crazy in the kitchen and make a fancy shmancy, 4 course, comfort food type meal to help distract my household from current craziness. After a bit of browsing, I settled on candied bacon for the appetizer course!

I sent out a scavenger party to the kitchen to collect the essential ingredients.

Bacon, check.

Gummi worms? Where did these even come from!? Put those back.

Jalapenos? Not on the list but sounds interesting, we'll see where that goes.

Sugar cubes? Fine, OK, I should have been more specific, we need brown sugar!

Brown sugar? Anyone? Helllooo, is there brown sugar anywhere in the house?!?! Negative Ghost Rider - No brown sugar...

Hmmm... Now what? Let me have another sip of this Coke and distilled sugarcane juice from "Happy Hour" while we think about what to do next... (Does happy hour count as a meal course?! Asking for a friend 😉)

Well hello there Kitchen Compromises! I'll bet you we can candy bacon with cola instead of brown sugar, lets find out!

Supplies

Bacon

(I'm partial to this bacon recipe if you want to make your own https://www.instructables.com/id/Makin-Buckboard-Bacon/)

Cola

Jalapenos (Optional)

Step 1: Test the Cola Bacon Hypothesis

Put the bacon in a pan that you won't mind getting sticky if things go wrong. I used a cast iron skillet.

Turn on the burner to medium-ish heat.

Add the jalapenos if you want (I'd recommend it, they were delicious!).

Then add just enough cola to cover the bottom of the pan. We're trying to caramelize the sugar in the cola without burning it.

Once things are starting to simmer, go ahead and cover the pan for a few minutes.

Because I've never used coke like this, I cooked this a little slower than usual so I could keep an eye on everything.

Uncover, flip the bacon and add a little more Coke. From here we'll cook everything without the lid until we get the look and crispiness we want. Feel free to flip the bacon as much as you want.

Once it looks so good you can't wait to eat it, turn off the heat. Don't put this on a paper towel to soak up the grease like you might do if you were cooking normal bacon, it will just stick and make a paper towel bacon mess!

And voila, Cola candied bacon! It works, and it's tasty!

Step 2: Other Uses for Coke

In addition to being an unhealthy beverage, Coca-Cola also has a surprising number of uses.

Obviously we know it can be used to candy bacon now. I've also used it to tenderize meat and clean copper. Plus, the Coke and Mentos experiment is always a good time!

If you've got some time on your hands, reading the weird things people do with Coca Cola is pretty interesting. Here's a starter example https://www.instructables.com/id/10-Unusual-Uses-For-Coca-Cola/

That's it for now!

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