Maple-Glazed Bacon

Just to let you know, this post was written before I started the paleo diet to help ease my psoriasis. Nowadays I eat a more allergy-friendly diet, but leave these older, non-paleo posts up in case they are useful to readers, as I know not everyone eats the same as I do. Thanks for your understanding. 

Sometimes you want a sweetness to smoked bacon, whether it's for making salads, sandwiches or sliding into a burger. But don't rely on the 'maple-cure' stuff you sometimes see in the shops - it's easy to give your grilled bacon that sweet-smoky glaze in just a few minutes - and I reckon it tastes tons better, too.

Because I use bacon quite a lot in my cooking, I started buying in Laverstoke Park Farm's nitrate-free, smoked streaky bacon, and always have a pack of it in my freezer. It's just like old-fashioned bacon - it's not bright pink, but brown (due to the lack of nitrates), has a good streak of fat in it and is thickly cut. It has a really different flavour to the typical 'supermarket' bacon - less sweet, more smoky and, well, more like pork, really. Giving it the maple glaze treatment makes it glossy, sweet and crisp: we love it.

How to Make Maple-Glazed Bacon
Makes 6 rashers 

Ingredients:

• 6 rashers of good-quality smoked, streaky bacon
• About 4 tablespoons maple syrup

Method:

1. Line a grill tray with a sheet of foil. Heat your grill to high.
2. Lay over the bacon strips onto the foil, leaving a space between each one, and drizzle the lot with about 2 tablespoons of maple syrup. You don't need much. Slide under the grill and cook until crisp.
3. Turn over the bacon with a pair of tongs, not a fork. Drizzle a little more maple syrup over each rasher and put back under the grill for another few minutes until sizzling and crispy.
4. Remove from the grill and transfer the rashers to a plate, leaving to cool a little.

These are perfect used in BLT sandwiches but I love them in my beefburgers. Gorgeous!