Crispy Cups of Bacon Joy

All my friends and family know that my favorite food item has to be bacon, hands down.  Since we live in Egypt most of the year round (at least since last January) bacon is not readily available and I find that just makes my longing stronger.  Since I am in Houston for a few weeks this summer, I am delighting in the availability of pork, alcohol and also, THAT I CAN DRIVE.   I am enjoying Cairo, don’t get me wrong, and I have a lovely gentleman that drives me around and knows everything there is to know about getting places in an expeditious manner and even where to shop for most things.   But I am reveling in the ability to wield my own car keys and steer my own vehicle where I want to go at any time of the day or night.  Captain of my own ship.  FREEDOM! 

Here’s a little item that I hesitate to call a recipe since it has but one ingredient, you guessed it, bacon.  So let’s just call it instructions for crispy cups of bacon joy that you can fill as you see fit.

Ingredients

BACON (Please keep up.)  

For 12 crispy cups of bacon joy you will need 18 slices of normal (not thick cut) streaky bacon.

Method

Preheat your oven to 400°F or 200°C.  

Put your muffin tin upside down in a bigger pan.  This will catch the bacon grease and prevent an oven fire while the bacon cups bake.  

Cut six of your bacon slices in half.  Fold the half slices in half again in a V, draping them over the top of each upside down muffin cup, trying as hard as you can to get total coverage, while still leaving a little bit of the bacon hanging over the edge.

Cover the rest of the muffin tin with a full slice of bacon, starting near the base of the muffin cup and working your way up till the final circle covers the overhanging bacon from the top.

Press the top down to make a nice neat upside down cup.

Bake in your preheated oven until the cups are crispy.  This should take about 20-25 minutes but could take longer, depending on your oven.  Just keep an eye on them. 

Remove from the oven and prop the bottom cooking pan up on one side with a towel or oven mitt to allow the grease to run off into the bottom pan.  (I save this bacon grease for future cooking adventures like Yorkshire puddings or even green beans.)

See the blue towel on the right?  It's under the bottom pan on one side. 

When the muffin tin is cool enough to handle, gentle wiggle the bacon cups free using a teaspoon to push up all around the sides.

Some of them will have holes in the bottom but this does not prevent them from being filled with much deliciousness.   (Or you could just eat some of them as is, which doesn’t make sense because of the time involved, but that didn’t stop me from doing it.  If you are not judging, I want to be your friend. ) 

Two suggestions:  Baked eggs (Sprinkle with salt and pepper and bake in a 350°F or 180°C oven for about 10-12 minutes or until white is just set.  Serve with buttered toast to dip.) 

I just made two of these.  They were the PERFECT dinner. 

Or my friend Sheila’s Cheesy Mexican Cornbread.  But, oh, my goodness!  Cheesy, spicy and succulent beyond belief baked in a crispy cup of bacon joy. )

Cheesy Mexican cornbread batter, going in!

\

I think quiche filling would be divine in these too! 

Enjoy!

Hey, see that little green Facebook symbol up in the right hand column?  If you click on it and then hit LIKE when Facebook opens, you will never miss a post because they are automatically updated to my Facebook page.  I mean, just if you want to.  Thanks!