I first had this bacon at a brunch at Cheryl‘s house. Mmm, bacon, I thought. I like bacon. Then I took a bite. And another, and another, and then several slices later, I finally asked her what sort of addictive drug she had added to it.

Cayenne pepper and brown sugar. That’s it. Practically the world’s simplest recipe. I finally made it myself, and it’s just so good.

I do have one change to the recipe, though. It says to cook the bacon in the oven at 425°. I always cook my bacon in the oven, but I’ve stopped doing it at high heat because I’m sick of the smoke alarms going off every time I make it. The addition of brown sugar to the bacon in this case makes the smoke even worse, so I cooked it at 375 instead. Still a bit smoky, but not as bad. It will take a little longer for the bacon to get crisp. It’s worth the wait.

For the recipe, take a peek here.

• Firecracker Bacon (The New England Table , p. 17)