The Simple Ingredients Ina Garten Uses To Turn Bacon Into A Gourmet Appetizer

Whether it's sandwiched into a BLT or nestled into a spread of breakfast provisions, bacon has many uses. Despite being an adaptable utilitarian ingredient, it's not commonly served as an appetizer. But why shouldn't it be? A portable, handheld, and widely enjoyed ingredient that can easily be shared among friends and family without completely filling you up, a plate of perfectly cooked bacon seems to tick all the boxes for a great appetizer. But if you're hesitant to serve it as an hors d'oeuvre, look to the experts for tips on transforming bacon from a supporting player in larger dishes into a standalone pre-meal secret weapon. For example, in her book "Barefoot Contessa Foolproof: Recipes You Can Trust," Ina Garten uses simple ingredients to zhuzh up a batch of bacon for sharing and snacking.

For a crunchy coating, she zaps pulverized pecans in a food processor with brown sugar to give the savory, smoky bacon an earthy, warming sweetness. Adding depth to the dulcet taste of brown sugar and the folksy bravado of the nuts, she introduces cayenne pepper for a touch of fire along with black pepper and salt for some familiar flavor enhancements. Holding it all together is a drizzle of cozy maple syrup that adds moisture to the crunchy pork and helps glue those sweet and spicy seasonings to its surface. Once baked in the oven, the final result is a complex but comforting blend of deep, caramelized flavors that are equal parts invigorating and grounding. Although some of the fixings might sound uncommon, bacon tastes great with anything, and there's science to back it up.

So you've prepared the caramelized bacon, now what? It's time to pair the platter with other appetizers and brainstorm entrees tasty enough to follow up the tough act that is Ina Garten's spicy, savory, and sugar-coated bacon.

If you're assembling a spread of foods for party snacking, channel your inner charcuterie board artist and leave out the boring stuff in exchange for those decadent slices of cayenne and sugar-coated bacon. Pair it with cheeses like soft and creamy brie or gruyere or amp up the flavor with a block of punchy Parmesan. Add honeyed figs and caramel-kissed figs for a cozy frim of fruit threaded with roasted almonds and whole pecans to bolster the nutty undertones of the bacon. Stack your ingredients on a crostini or a crusty baguette and serve with orange wine for a well-rounded and sophisticated snacking experience.

Instead of baking them on their own, wrap the bacon around cream-cheese jalapeño poppers for a mouthful of rich, spicy, sweet, and savory flavors that everyone will love. Break the bacon into smaller pieces and serve them on sliders for a filling appetizer with a meaty machismo. And when all else fails, just take them out of the oven and enjoy them all on their own.