Caramel smoked bacon

This Serious Barbeque recipe is seriously decadent and seriously delicious. Lang recommends using non-stick Silpats (silicone baking mats) to line the pans; but once they’ve been used for smoking, they’re no good for other baking, so I substituted parchment paper.

½ c. firmly packed light brown sugar

¼ c. water

1 T. whole coriander seeds, coarsely crushed

1 T. coarsely ground fresh black pepper

1 T. crushed hot red pepper flakes

One 4 ½-5-inch thick piece of slab bacon, 1/14 – 1 ¾ lbs., cut into 16 slices, each about ¼ inch thick. [Or use pre-cut, thick-sliced bacon.]

1/4 c. coarsely chopped flatleaf parsley

fruitwood for smoking, preferably apple

Preheat an indirect barbeque with a drip pan and fruitwood, a ceramic cooker with a deflector plate and fruitwood, or a charcoal or gas grill.

Line two rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper that has been sprayed with cooking spray (or other pans that will fit your cooker).

Combine the sugar, water, crushed coriander, black pepper, and pepper flakes in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium to medium-high heat.

Remove from the heat and, either in the pan or in a large bowl, toss the bacon in the sugar mixture to evenly coat all the slices.

Arrange the bacon on the pans, leaving a half inch between the slices.

Place the pans in the cooker. Depending on the size of your cooker and the pans used to fit the cooker, the pans will need to be stacked and rotated halfway through the cooking.

Cook for 1 ½ hours to 2 hours, or until the bacon is caramelized and cooked to your liking. At 1 ½ hours, the bacon will be caramelized, but at 2 hours it will be crispier.

Remove the bacon from the cooker and sprinkle with the parsley.

Let cool for a few minutes before serving.

—From Serious Barbecue by Adam Perry Lang. Copyright © 2009. Photographs by David Loftus. Published by Hyperion.