Sweet and Spicy Candied Bacon Corn Salsa
Today I’m serving two must-try bar snacks for fall: Candied Bacon and Bacon Corn Salsa. Salty-sweet indulgences to brighten your day.
Have you ever read the children’s book Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst?
It used to be one of my favorite read-alouds back when I taught third grade. I would read it to my class at the beginning of the school year and talk about how some days just don’t turn out the way we want. Yet instead of having a bad attitude, like Alexander, we could choose to be positive through the tough times, knowing things will change. They always change.
On occasion, I still have to remind myself that the tough times don’t last forever.
Sometimes the situation changes; sometimes we create the change.
Some seasons are light-hearted fun and smooth sailing, while other seasons are a seemingly endless storm of personal, relational, financial and/or health issues.
I find these hard times are much more bearable when you look for little blessings in each day.
Through all the daily muck you put up with, you have to stop and enjoy the little things: a clear blue sky, a long walk, a smile from a stranger, an honest response from a friend, a napping baby, a hearty meal, a mailbox without bills, a comfy pair of shoes, a full tank of gas, an early bedtime.
There is always something positive to focus on, if you look for it.
For instance, today I’m focusing on simple ingredients that I love:
Sugar.
Peppers.
Bacon.
Fresh Corn.
I’m giving you two snacks, instead of one. You can count that as one of your little daily blessings. *wink*
Sweet and spicy Candied Bacon is the most ridiculously indulgent thing I can think of. Crispy caramelized strips of pork fat with spicy flecks of crushed red pepper sprinkled about.
You can eat it as-is, or crumble it into something like, let’s say, Corn Salsa!
Snack #2 utilizes and bold spicy flavor of the bacon candy to make a crisp fresh corn salsa with corn cut straight off the cob. It’s fantastic for scooping with tortilla chips, but also makes a great corn salad side dish.
This bacon corn salsa recipe makes 10-12 strips of candied bacon, even though you only need 6 for the salsa.
Why?
Inevitably, 4-6 strips of bacon candy will mysteriously disappear while you chop peppers. It happens every time!
I hope you’re having a fabulous day. But if not, make Candied Bacon your silver lining.
Yield: 6 servings
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Candied Bacon Corn Salsa
Bacon candy crumbled into a crisp fresh corn salad.
Ingredients:
For the Candied Bacon:
10-12 strips, thick cut bacon
1 cup brown sugar
1 Tb. crushed red pepper
For the Bacon Corn Salsa:
6 strips candied bacon, chopped or crumbled
1 Tb. butter
4 ears fresh corn, cut off the cobs
1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
1/2 cup chopped green onion
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
Salt and Pepper
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Pour the brown sugar and crushed red pepper in a pie pan. mix by hand.
Thoroughly coat each strip of bacon with the sugar mixture and lay out on a roasting pan with a rack and shallow tray below. (The kind that comes with an oven.)
Bake the bacon for 15-20 minutes, until almost crisp. Using tongs, flip the bacon strips and cook another 5 minutes, until cooked through and red in color.
Remove from the oven and place on a piece of foil to dry. Once cooled, the bacon should be firm and crisp, not flimsy.
For the Corn Salsa: Crumble or chop 6 strips of the candied bacon.
Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the butter to the skillet.
Sear the fresh corn for approximately 1 minute, just long enough to add color and sweetness, but not cook through. Remove the corn, then repeat with the red bell peppers.
Add the corn, peppers, green onion and cilantro to a bowl. Toss with the crumbled bacon, then salt and pepper to taste.
Serve as a corn salad, with chips, or as a steak topper.
More Fun Bar Snacks:
Antipasto Skewers with Herb Vinaigrette
Smoked Salmon Ragoon ~ The Little Kitchen
Zucchini Chips ~ Table for Two
Goat Cheese Hushpuppies ~ Heather Christo
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That is a classic book! I agree, candied bacon is like…treat with treat…delight with delight…this salsa is speaking directly to me.
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I adore this! And adding the bacon…genius!
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I always make extra bacon for recipes for that exact reason. 2 for the recipe, 1 for me ha.
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whaaaaaaaat.
candied bacon IN salsa?
omg.
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I love your outlook…to always be on the lookout for little blessings each day. This candied bacon and corn salsa would surely count as a BIG blessing any day of the week, YUMMO!!
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Great post Sommer – now that I’m older, I do try to see the positive in tough times. I expect to learn something through the trial now which has really helped change my perspective and get me through to the other side of a difficult situation. As for your salsa, that should get just about anyone through a tough time!
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Mmmmm…this totally sounds like my kind of salsa. Love it!
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I agree, we should learn to cherish every single day, the good and bad ones. However, thats not always easy in some situations.
Candied bacon? Never tried that! I ought to surprise my husband with your recipe, he is a full on bacon lover.
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I want to dig in, that looks so good.
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What? Candied Bacon! Sounds amazing and I can’t wait to give it a try!
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OH WOW! Is this sinful or what! But I must try it. Thanks Sommer.
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Okay, I had no idea that bacon was candy-able. Where have I been?!
I am such a pessimist, but I’ve been trying to be a little more positive lately. Thank you for the reminder!
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WOW your salsa looks incredible!! I just found your blog, its awesome and I look forward to following your posts!
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Oh my goodness, you did NOT candy bacon. I love, love, love this Sommer!
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I would have to guard that bacon with my life to prevent my boys from eating it before I put the salsa together. This is amazing. I want to eat it with a spoon!
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Oh my gosh, yum! I have always wanted to make candied bacon, I think my Husband would give me flowers if I made this for him!
It looks super delish!!
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Whoa, if Brian were to catch a glimpse of this post, I’d be making both of these for dinner. Can’t wait to try both of these recipes!
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Your photo’s are beautiful!
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What a lovely salsa. It’s the simple things that can bring us the most joy, especially when the going gets rough.
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bacon is the answer to most of life’s problems
or at least good therapy! I love the candied bacon!
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oh this look fabulous! I can’ wait to make it.
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This looks CRYWORTHY good!
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There is nothing better together than bacon and corn. This looks wonderful! So much flavor!
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Wow, I would never have thought to pair these flavors, but it sounds amazing!
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I love the piece about finding joys in the little things – that’s been a big focus of mine recently. I also love the addition of the candied bacon, brilliant!
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Yep! No surprise here. I am in love with this recipe. Yum x 10!
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Your photography is always top notch but the composition in this post really caught my eye. Enough to pin it as a study in “what to do”. You did a great job telling a story with the shots. You rock!
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Sommer — September 9th, 2012 @ 4:44 pm
Awe Chris, I’m blushing!
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Oh this looks so good! I’m on a strict diet and am adding this to a list of to try recipes later in the year. Yum!!
I have been through really tough times: infertility, loved ones with cancer, miscarriage, personal financial crisis, and bankruptcy. I have found like you that focusing on what you can be thankful for makes all the difference. There are always others better off and worse off than you. Looking at what you have and being thankful for it – even the small things like corn and bacon or milk and bread and the large things like a healthy family and a loving husband are what helped get me through the tough times.
I hope your horrible, terrible season is (or days are) short and you have plenty to be thankful for during it.
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Love this! Your photography is stunning. The colours, tones, composition… even the dishes, simply exquisite.
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