The Apocalypse - 0, Bacon - 1

When I awoke this morning I was quite relieved that the pending apocalypse was a no show.  I don’t really believe in any of that crap, but there is always that nagging little thought in the back of my mind, what if it really happened?  Which begs the question, what would my last meal be?  Actually, I would need a week to eat everything I wanted before the collapse of society, but I have one thing that I'd be eating a lot of...BACON!  And it just so happens I recently found the ultimate bacon recipe.

Hot off the smoker, Billionaire's Bacon

It is well known, I watch a lot of cooking shows and one of my new favorites is United States of Bacon.  I caught the pilot episode a few weeks back and saw this amazing recipe for Billionaire’s Bacon.  This is the signature dish of The Sweet Maple Restaurant in San Francisco.  The minute I saw that thick sweet bacon I began to salivate like Pavlov’s dog, man did it look good!  In my mind I could already taste the flavors of bacon and brown sugar with a hint of spices.  Heck, my mouth is watering now just writing about it.

Wright's Steak Cut Bacon, found at Wally World

To make Billionaire's Bacon you need super thick cut bacon.  As luck would have it, I found this amazing steak cut bacon at my local Wally World. This stuff is thick, there’s only 6 slices per pound.  If you can’t find this steak cut bacon, just have the butcher slice you some.  For this bacon experience you're also going to need some BBQ Rub, brown sugar and chile pepper flakes.

Bacon ready for the smoker

I started with a large foil pan and a cooling rack. I don’t want the bacon wallowing in the drippings; I want it to sit above it so it can cook.  I placed the bacon on the rack, each slice right next to each other.  Then laid down a base seasoning of my BBQ Rub. Now the most important part, the thick layer of brown sugar, the brown sugar is going to cook down and create a caramelizing glaze on the bacon so don’t skimp on it.  For that hint of heat, sprinkle some red chile flakes on top of the brown sugar.  I baked this bad boy in the smoker for 4 hours at 250º.  You can easily make this in your oven using the same time and temp.

 I swear that four hours felt like an eternity, I wanted to taste that bacon so bad!  Once it was done and the moment of truth had arrived, I cut off a big chunk and popped it into my mouth.  The first bite was the best; I bit down through the sweet caramelized brown sugar to get a big shot of bacon flavor from the juicy fat that was trapped within the bacon.  Then as I started to chew, all the flavors of the meat, the fat, the brown sugar and spice all melded together for what had to be the greatest bacon experience I’ve ever had. 

Bite-size Billionaire Bacon

I could not wait for my wife to get home from work so she could taste my latest creation, needless to say she was equally impressed.  She actually said it was one of the top 5 foods she’s ever eaten.  Trust me, my wife does not hand out those compliments to me on a regular basis, she feels it’s her duty in life to keep my ego in check.  If you’re a bacon fanatic and looking for the ultimate bacon experience I urge you to give this recipe a try.  It’s truly amazing!