This afternoon I bought some bacon-wrapped jalapeño poppers at Fry's Groceries.  (That's a Kroger-branded store; it might be named differently in your area.)

I put the tray in the low position, poppers on the tray, and set the Speedi to Air Fry at 350°F for 14 minutes.  Came out pretty well perfect.

One caveat:  make sure place them cream-cheese side up.  These were so thoroughly wrapped with bacon that I got one of them wrong.  The cheese melted through the tray.  It wasn't pretty.

2023-11-05:  first experiment.  I used the air fryer rack shown below.  Four pieces of bacon on bake/roast at 400° for seven minutes.  Came out pretty well perfect.  Mostly crisped up as it rested, but for crisper bacon I might try 8 minutes.

2023-11-06:  second experiment.  8 minutes made crispier bacon.  That's the way to go.

2023-11-16:  It seems that the crispness also is pretty dependent on the amount of fat in the bacon.  Fattier bacon may take a minute or two more.

Crisper tray in lower position, put four strips of bacon on the tray, and cook on "bake/roast" for 10 minutes at 400°.  Worked well.

2023:11-14:  Tried it with the wire rack and parchment paper.  I think the bacon turned out slightly less crispy, and much more curly at the ends.

2023-04-27:  first attempt.  Four slices at 400°F for 20 minutes in baking mode, starting cold.  That wasn't crispy enough for me, so I added ten minutes.  The result with a total of 30 minutes cooking time was really good.

Next time:  try 400°F for 20 minutes but in broil mode.

2023-04-28:  second attempt.  Four slices at 400°F for 20 minutes in broiling mode, starting cold. Perfect results.

2023-07-02:  I tried the same directions as last time using jalapeno bacon from Sprouts.  The bacon burned.  I'm not sure if this is a summer-time issue, or if it's a bacon quality issue.  Certainly the bacon was much fattier.  If I use that bacon again, next time I'll try 15 minutes.

2023-07-04:  This time I again cooked jalapeno bacon from Sprouts.  I again tried 400°F for 20 minutes in broiling mode, but this time I put the try on the lower shelf, not the mid shelf.  It came out almost perfect.  Next time I should try 18 minutes.  I'm thinking the difference between summertime starting-heat and wintertime starting heat makes the difference between 18 and 20 minutes cooking time.

Serves eight

• Two pounds or so of room temperature bacon
• One minced onion
• Four minced garlic cloves
• 1 tablespoon of minced fresh thyme
• Four cups of grated medium aged cheddar
• Five or six large unpeeled baking potatoes
• Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Line the bottom of a ten-inch, non-stick sauté pan with a small round of parchment paper. Carefully arrange the bacon in a radial pattern from the center of the bottom of the pan to the lower edge of the rim and continuing up and over it. Let the ends hang over. The slices should overlap slightly around the sides of the pan. To reduce the thickness of the bacon in the center stagger every other piece starting it two inches from the center and extending it further than the adjacent slices. With the palm of your hand, flatten the center area, leaving no gaps in the bacon. Season the bacon with pepper then sprinkle on several tablespoons of the grated cheddar.

Slice the potatoes as thinly and uniformly as you can, about a quarter inch thick. Arrange a circular pattern of overlapping slices around the inside bottom edge of the pan. Continue arranging overlapping layers of the potatoes until the bottom is evenly covered. Season the potatoes with salt and pepper. Mix together the onions and garlic and sprinkle some of the mixture onto the potatoes. Continue with a layer of the grated cheese. Cover with another layer of the potato pressing it down firmly before continuing with alternate layers of the potatoes, onion mixture and cheese until the pan is full. Continue with several more layers insetting each a bit from the edge of the pan until the top is an inch or so higher than the pan’s rim. Fold the overhanging bacon neatly up and over the top of the potatoes. Trim a small piece of parchment paper and place it in between an ovenproof lid and the bacon. This lids weight will prevent the bacons ends from pulling back and shrinking during cooking.

Place the tart pan on a baking sheet and bake for at least two and a half to three hours. You’ll know it’s done when a small thin bladed knife inserts easily. Pour off as much of the fat around the edges as possible. Let the tart stand for fifteen minutes then carefully cover with a plate and flip over. Slide onto a cutting surface. Slice into wedges and serve immediately. You may refrigerate any leftovers and reheat them later it in a microwave.

Feel free to try

Try mixing a few tablespoons of your favourite herb into the onion mixture. Thyme, rosemary and tarragon all work well.

Hints

Medium aged cheddar works best because it wont ‘break’ like an older cheese and release lots of oil. It also has more flavour than a younger cheddar. Kitchen specialty stores carry a French slicing tool known as a mandolin. It’s a fancy chef tool but easily slices the potatoes into even rounds. Its not absolutely necessary though, a sharp knife works well too!

So up above you see the recipe as I found it. I wanted to try it. Alas, the bacon they had at my butcher shop didn't seem long enough. Plus I had a 12" pan and an 8" pan, but not a 10" saute pan. So I decided to work with the 8" pan for the first time. Skipped the thyme.

My mandolin seemed to cut things thinner than 1/4 inch... not to mention a chunk of my thumb. I probably should have alternated more layers of potatoes on top of each other. Anyway, it's in the oven now. Even after less than ten minutes it smells exquisite.

Here's a picture of the pan before I put potatoes in.

Frankly, this recipe rocked. Okay, it's not a particularly interesting flavor, but it is a hearty and satisfying flavor. I will definitely make it again.

If I remember correctly, I only used about 5 medium sized potatoes, not the big bakers, and I think I pulled it out at 1 hour 45 minutes because of the smaller size.

I've been meaning to make chocolate-covered bacon for some time using the recipe mentioned on Primal Toad. Today I did it. Here's my variation.

Ingredients

• 1/2 lb. of thick-cut bacon. Don't use the skinny crap they sell in dairy case. Get it from the butcher.
• 3.5 oz of good quality chocolate, chopped
• 1 tbsp of butter

Method

1. In a small frying pan melt the butter over low heat.
2. Add the chocolate, stirring to smooth it out.
3. Dip the bacon in the chocolate. Transfer it to a wire cooling rack. Put it in the fridge for a couple of hours to firm up.

This turned out pretty good, although it probably won't become part of my regular diet.

This is about the easiest way to make bacon ever.

Put separated bacon strips on a broiler pan; you know, one of those things with a removable slotted top. Put in cold oven. Turn oven to 400°F. Set the timer to 20 minutes and walk away. When the timer goes off, pull them out.

Also see video on primal toad.