The Spicy Oil That Takes Any Bacon Recipe To The Next Level

Nothing beats the smell of sizzling bacon in the morning — except maybe frying that bacon in chili oil. Chili oil — whether bought at the store or made at home — is an excellent condiment to use when you want to spice up bacon and don't feel like dousing it in hot sauce. Yes, bacon is pretty much perfect as it is, but think about how pork and chili oil pair together in other meals. A savory sweetness is brought out, like with Sichuan staple Dan Dan Noodles or pork fried dumplings. Imagine that combination with bacon — and with dishes that use bacon as a main ingredient. 

You can cook a classic breakfast with eggs, toast, and bacon and drizzle on some chili oil. You can make a rich shakshuka with some gooey eggs and bacon stuffed in a pita and add chili oil on top. Planning on hosting a get together at your home? Bacon-focused appetizers, like classic bacon-wrapped water chestnuts or bacon-wrapped asparagus, are brought to life with chili oil. You know what else goes with bacon? Pineapple. Twirl some bacon around chunks of fresh pineapple and splash some chili oil on that. Put some bacon and your favorite cheese on crostini with chili oil (this would be really great with the sweet, cooling contrast of ricotta). Add chili oil to cheese boards alongside honey and jam. Give your BLT a kick.

It's pretty easy to make your own chili oil, and there are lots of recipes out there. You can go traditional or experiment to tailor the oil to your taste (adding garlic sounds like a great idea). You can even add oil to a near-empty bottle of hot sauce, like crowd favorite Huy Fong Sriracha. (Peanut, grapeseed, or vegetable oil are good choices to add to sriracha thanks to their high smoke points.)

There are also lots of pre-made chili oils to choose from. Some chili oils are spicier than others, and different kinds of chili oils contain different ingredients. For example, the chili oil traditionally used in Dan Dan Noodles is made with Sichuan peppercorns, cinnamon, star anise, oil, and red pepper flakes. On the other hand, Calabrian chili oil contains Calabrian chilis, dry chili flakes, salt, olive oil, and red chili powder. And don't forget chili crisp, which is chili oil loaded up with good stuff like garlic, ginger, black beans, onion, and sesame seeds. Like chili oil, not all chili crisp has the same ingredients, so make sure you read the label to get what you want. But honestly? You can't lose when pairing any of these oils with bacon.