Cranberry-Glazed Bacon

The big game is just around the corner, that time of year when everyone huddles around the TV to watch the game, the commercials or both.

And to satiate the appetites of all those in attendance, you turn to appetizers and small bites.

Bacon is a mainstay for a lot of those people waiting in anticipation for the Super Bowl. And to complement that saltiness? Add the sugary sweetness of Wisconsin cranberries, thickened and glazed on top of the bacon.


Cranberry-Glazed Bacon
(adapted from The Pioneer Woman Homemade Cranberry Sauce)

12-ounce package cranberries
1 cup cranberry juice
3/4 cup sugar
3 tablespoons orange zest
8 to 10 ounces bacon

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Heat the cranberries, juice, sugar and zest in a pot until thickened, about 10 to 15 minutes.

2. Pour into bowl and set aside, letting cool and thicken slightly.

3. On a foil-lined baking sheet, line the bacon on top of a drying rack and stick sheet into oven. (That will help in the cleanup stage.)

4. Cook bacon for about 10 minutes, then pull out. If bacon has started to render fat and started to crisp, take a brush and slather on one side of the bacon. The put back into the oven. Repeat one or two more times.

5. After the bacon has been in the oven for additional rounds of glaze on one side, flip bacon, glaze and repeat step 4.

6. Pull out when bacon looks crisp. Move to a plate and glaze bacon one more time. Glaze with any leftover cranberries. Serve immediately or refrigerate.