The Sweet And Savory Meat Candy Andrew Zimmern Puts In His Homemade Chex Mix

Homemade Chex Mix is one of those snacks that's sure to disappear at any get-together. The best part is, it's endlessly customizable (my cousin puts furikake in hers, which is a pro maneuver). Celebrity chef and TV show host Andrew Zimmern has his own take on Chex Mix. While his base cereal blend is flavored with typical Worcestershire sauce, butter, and a dry spice blend, he adds an unexpected ingredient that others don't: candied bacon.

Zimmern's Chex Mix pairs spiced nuts and the sweet, fatty pork belly bits to give the snack a big layer of extra flavor. A bonus is that the candied bacon adds texture, too, depending on how it's cooked. So if you make it crispy, you get little crispy bits, and if you prefer it a little chewier, you'll get sweet and intensely savory jerky-like nuggets to amplify every handful. This is sure to empty the bowl before the party's over. There aren't many universal subjects that people will agree upon, but I think it's pretty safe to say that nearly everyone loves bacon.

If you want to know the truth, candied bacon is unbelievably easy to make. Andrew Zimmern's recipe simply instructs you to prepare bacon and brown sugar in a pan until the fat is rendered and the sugar granules have dissolved, creating a glaze. However, if you prefer a make-ahead version, we have a sweet and spicy bacon seasoning blend recipe on our site that's even easier. The best part is that it's about the same, including bacon, brown sugar, and black pepper, but the bonus is that it's hands-off, as you can prepare it in the oven ahead of time.

One of the best aspects of candied bacon is that it's also something you can easily enhance with dry spices. If you're into heat, you can add crushed red pepper flakes, just like rapper Snoop Dogg does in his 2018 cookbook, "From Crook to Cook: Platinum Recipes from Tha Boss Dogg's Kitchen." So modding out Zimmern's Chex Mix recipe is as easy as tinkering with the candied bacon, if you're so inclined. Either way, you can't go wrong with that addition to your Chex Mix, so if you're looking to treat your guests to a beefed up (or, rather porked out) version of something they're familiar with, just do as Zimmern does and make a batch of candied bacon.