Why gild the lily? Because it tastes soooo good, that's why. I've had many discussions recently about glazed sweet and savory bacon. I've made it before, but never written down my recipe. You can use brown sugar, raw sugar, honey, but for this past weekend, I went with 100% maple syrup. Bacon already has the salty element, so I just needed to bump up the savoriness of the bacon. I went with a touch of garlic salt, cracked black pepper, and one of my favorite spices ever: smoked sweet paprika. Give this recipe a try when you're having guests over or for the world's best BLT.

Maple-Glazed Bacon

serves 4-6

Ingredients

1 pound good quality thick-cut bacon
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 teaspoon smoked paprika (sweet, not hot)
1/2 teaspoon cracked black pepper
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt

Directions

Cover a sheet pan with parchment paper. Lay out the slices of bacon in one layer on the sheet pan. Place bacon in a cold oven, then turn on to 325 F and set a timer for 30 minutes. Meanwhile in a small bowl combine the maple syrup, paprika, pepper and garlic salt and set aside.

After 30 minutes, remove the bacon from the oven, turn up heat to 375 F. With a pastry brush, brush each slice of bacon with the maple syrup mixture. When the oven reaches 375 F, cook the bacon for an additional 5-10 minutes until crispy.

Remove from the oven and drain the bacon on paper towels for 5 minutes. Serve immediately or at room temperature.