BACON HOT DOG BITES

Did I promise a fudge recipe? Yes, I did. Then I saw the photos, which had all been taken on Instagram. Now I love Instagram, and it's a great quick fix, but it's not perfect. (Heck, look at the evidence above. I had my camera at my place, but not at my friend's place. Whoops.)

I said, Mmmm, NO. Plus, I have to make another batch this week, though, so there may be hope that I'll share this easy fudge recipe after all.

Instead, I hopped on over to the other side of the taste bud spectrum: salty, savory, delicious bacon hot dog bites with just a touch of sweetness in the form of brown sugar. Perfect for our first conference game win (basketball).

Ingredients:

• 1 package of hot dogs (mine had 6)
• 8 strips of bacon
• ½ cup of dark brown sugar
• 2 tbs of some liquid

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet/pan with foil.
2. If you're using whole hot dogs, like I did (because it was cheaper), cut the dogs into evenly sized smaller pieces. I cut mine into fifths.
3. Then cut your bacon accordingly (and adjust the number of strips accordingly). I found that a third of a strip of bacon would just wrap a hot dog, but you can easily double wrap a hot dog for more bacon-y goodness.
4. Wrap bacon pieces around hot dog pieces, and place into lined sheet/pan. If the bacon pieces are too short, use toothpicks to secure them.
5. Place the sheet/pan in oven. Leave it alone for 10 minutes, so that the bacon can crisp up.
6. Meanwhile, mix up the brown sugar with your liquid of choice. I used a dark beer (but couldn't taste it), and I've seen recipes that recommend mustard, ketchup, etc. It should be the consistency of barbecue sauce.
7. Once ten minutes have elapsed, take the sheet/pan out. Drain the grease, if necessary. Spread the sugar mixture on top.
8. Place the sheet/pan back in the oven, and bake for another 15-20 minutes. The bacon will crisp up, and the sugar will caramelize.

Let dish cool slightly, and serve almost immediately. 

(You'll see that I switched from a glass pan to an aluminum pan. Yes, I was unsure how to go about draining the grease and then walking over to my friend's apartment with such hot, crispy goodness - so instead of actually draining, I just moved the bites over to the aluminum pan. Then I walked over to my friend's, spread the sugar mixture on top and finished it there.)

Sources of inspiration: 

• Bacon Wrapped Beer 'n Brat Bites (I'd love to try this recipe out eventually)
• Bacon Wrapped Hot Dogs
• Bacon-Wrapped Cocktail Sausages