easy peppered bacon

My husband and I don’t eat a lot of red meat, but our most frequent exception is probably bacon. It’s universally loved at our house, and for good reason! I really try to eat lean meats most of the time, but I think my life would be less happy without a little bacon now and then. Since we eat bacon so infrequently, though, I try to make it as awesome as possible when we do eat it. I buy the best quality bacon we can afford, and I like to add a little flavor when we cook it to make it extra special. I discovered the oven method of cooking bacon a few years ago and have never looked back! I love that the bacon cooks uniformly and that it’s easy to make a big batch all at once. It’s simple and easy to add a little brown sugar and freshly ground pepper before baking, and I love that it adds such great flavor. This is my absolute favorite way to eat bacon, and I hope you’ll give it a try!

Easy Peppered Bacon

1 pound thick-cut bacon
2 tablespoons brown sugar
freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 400. Line a baking sheet with foil, then place a cooling rack on top of the lined baking sheet. Lay the pieces of baking on top of the cooling rack. It’s okay for them to be close together, but do not let them overlap. Sprinkle the bacon with the brown sugar and black pepper. Bake 20-25 minutes, rotating the baking sheet halfway through. When the bacon is done it will still be a little soft and floppy due to the brown sugar, but it will crisp up as it cools. Remove the bacon from the oven and place on paper towels to drain. Enjoy!