Cherry Smoked Pig Candy with Bourbon – Bacon Nirvana

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Pig candy has been around for a long time, but if you've never made it in a smoker, you're in for a real treat. The combination of sweet, smoky, salty, and just a little bit spicy creates something that is almost impossible to stop eating once you get started.

Several years ago, I shared a recipe for smoked pig candy that used brown sugar and my original rub as a dry coating. It was fantastic and still is, but this version takes things a step further by adding a rich glaze made with bourbon, brown sugar, maple syrup, honey, and my original rub. As the bacon cooks, the glaze thickens and caramelizes into a sticky, smoky coating that turns ordinary bacon into something that belongs on a holiday appetizer table, a game day spread, or honestly, right beside your favorite easy chair.

The bourbon adds a little extra depth to the flavor, but don't worry if that's not your thing. Dr Pepper works surprisingly well and gives you a similar sweet richness with a slightly different flavor profile.

Fair warning: if you're planning to share this with family and friends, you might want to make extra. Every time I make a batch, people start grabbing pieces before it ever makes it to the serving tray.

If you'd like to see another variation, be sure to check out my bacon candy video recipe. The ingredients are a little different, but the end result is just as delicious.

Recipe At a Glance

• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 2 to 2½ hours
• Smoker Temperature: 250°F (121°C)
• Finished Temperature: Not Applicable
• Recommended Wood: Cherry

What You'll Need

This recipe starts with a few simple ingredients that come together to create a sweet, smoky, slightly spicy glaze that caramelizes beautifully on the bacon.

• 1 pound (or more) of regular or thick sliced bacon
• Brown sugar
• Bourbon
• Pure maple syrup
• Honey
• Jeff's Original Rub

The bacon provides the salty foundation while the brown sugar, maple syrup, and honey create the candy-like coating. The bourbon adds depth and richness, and the rub brings just enough savory flavor to keep the sweetness from becoming overpowering.

Note: If you'd rather skip the bourbon, Dr Pepper makes an excellent substitute and creates a slightly sweeter flavor profile.

Step 1: Get the Smoker Ready

Normally I have you prepare the food first and then fire up the smoker, but this recipe is a little different. The bacon goes straight from the package to the smoker, so it makes sense to get the smoker preheating while you get everything else ready.

Set up your smoker for indirect cooking at 250°F (121°C) or so. I used a small cabinet style electric smoker for this batch, but any smoker will work just fine as long as it can maintain a steady temperature in that range.

While the smoker is coming up to temperature, take the bacon out of the package and separate the slices so they are ready to go on the grate.

Over the past few years, I've started adding a light sprinkling of Jeff's Original Rub to the top side of the bacon just before it goes into the smoker. It adds another layer of flavor and balances the sweetness of the glaze really well. If you have some on hand, I highly recommend giving it a try.

The bacon will spend about 45 to 60 minutes in the smoker before we add the glaze. During that time it will begin to render some of its fat and pick up a little smoke flavor. Once the glaze goes on, that's when the real magic happens and ordinary bacon starts its transformation into smoked pig candy.

Step 2: Put the Bacon in the Smoker

I placed the bacon on Bradley racks because they make it easy to move everything in and out of the smoker at once, but you can just as easily lay the bacon directly on the smoker grates if that's what you have available.

I do not recommend using a cookie sheet or any solid pan under the bacon since you want the smoke to be able to reach as much of the surface as possible.

Once the bacon was arranged on the racks, I placed them directly onto the smoker grates. Underneath the bacon, I set a disposable foil pan on a lower rack to catch the bacon drippings and any glaze that might drip off later in the cook.

I'll admit that I'm always looking for ways to make cleanup easier. Whether that's working smart or just avoiding extra work is up for debate, but scrubbing grease out of a smoker has never been my favorite part of barbecue. A simple foil pan underneath the bacon can save you a lot of cleanup later.

Let the bacon smoke for about 45 minutes at 250°F (121°C) or so. If your smoker is running a little cooler, closer to 225°F (107°C), plan on giving it closer to an hour before moving to the next step.

For this batch, I used cherry wood and kept the smoke rolling for the entire cook, which ended up being right around 2 hours total. Cherry adds a mild sweetness and gives the bacon a beautiful deep color by the time it's finished.

While the bacon is in the smoker, head back inside and make the glaze that will turn this into true smoked pig candy.

Step 3: Make the Glaze

While the bacon is smoking, it's time to make the glaze that gives this pig candy its signature sweet, smoky flavor.

In a small mixing bowl, combine:

• ½ cup dark brown sugar
• ¼ cup pure maple syrup
• ¼ cup bourbon
• ½ cup Jeff's Original Rub
• 2 tablespoons honey

Mix everything together until the ingredients are well combined. The glaze should be thick enough to cling to the bacon but still loose enough to spread easily with a brush.

If it seems a little too thick, add another tablespoon or two of bourbon and stir again until you reach a consistency you like.

The brown sugar, maple syrup, and honey provide the sweetness that helps create that candy-like coating while the bourbon adds depth and richness. My Original Rub balances everything out with just enough savory flavor to keep the glaze from becoming overly sweet.

Note: If you'd rather not use bourbon, substitute the same amount of Dr Pepper and reduce the honey to 1 tablespoon. Since the soda already contributes additional sweetness, a little less honey helps keep the flavor balanced.

Step 4: Apply the First Layer of Glaze

After the bacon has been smoking for about 45 to 60 minutes, it is time to add the glaze.

Using a long handled silicone brush, open the smoker and quickly brush a generous layer of glaze onto the top side of each piece of bacon. Once the tops are coated, flip the bacon over and brush the glaze onto the other side as well.

At this point, the glaze will look wet and a little messy. Don't worry, that's exactly what you want. Over the next hour or so, the sugars will begin to caramelize, the bacon will continue to render, and that sticky coating will slowly transform into the sweet, smoky candy layer we're after.

Once all of the bacon is glazed, close the smoker door and let it continue cooking for another 30 minutes.

Step 5: Apply the Second Layer of Glaze

After another 30 minutes, open the smoker and give the bacon a second coating of glaze.

Brush a layer onto the top side of each piece, then flip the bacon over and coat the other side as well. Try to work quickly so you don't lose too much heat from the smoker.

By now, you should start noticing the bacon taking on a deeper color and a slightly sticky appearance. The first layer of glaze has already begun to caramelize, and this second application helps build even more flavor and that beautiful candy-like coating that makes this recipe so addictive.

Once all of the bacon has been glazed, close the smoker and let it cook for another 30 minutes.

Step 6: Cool the Pig Candy

Once the bacon is finished, remove it from the smoker and transfer it to a sheet of wax paper to cool.

Don't wait too long to do this. As the bacon cools, the glaze begins to harden and the bacon can stick surprisingly well to the racks. The longer it sits there cooling, the harder it becomes to remove without breaking pieces or making a mess.

Ask me how I know.

On this particular batch, I got distracted and wasn't quite quick enough getting the bacon off the racks. Learn from my mistake and move it to the wax paper while it's still hot and easy to handle.

As the pig candy cools, the glaze will continue to set and develop that sticky, candy-like texture that makes this recipe so good.

Step 7: Whole Strips or Bite-Sized Pieces?

My original plan was to serve these as long strips of bacon.

That was the plan, anyway.

The first couple of pieces came off the rack in beautiful full strips, but after that the glaze had other ideas. As I removed the remaining bacon, quite a few pieces broke apart into smaller chunks.

After tasting a few of those chunks, I quickly decided that bite-sized pieces might actually be the superior way to eat smoked pig candy.

If your bacon comes off the rack in perfect strips, that's great. Serve it that way and watch it disappear.

If some of it breaks into smaller pieces, don't worry about it for a second. In fact, those little pieces are often the first ones people grab because they're easy to snack on while walking past the serving bowl.

And if you happen to end up with a few extra pieces left over, they make a pretty amazing topping for a bowl of vanilla ice cream. It might sound a little strange at first, but sweet, salty, smoky bacon and ice cream get along a lot better than most people expect.