Candied Prosciutto

All I have to say is “MOVE OVER, candied bacon!”. Because, there’s a new candied cured meat in town that is changing the game.

The recipe was born out of necessity. They say necessity is the mother of invention, after all. I was craving candied bacon one morning, but all of my bacon was in freezer. You know what wasn’t in the freezer though? A pack of prosciutto that I had hanging out in my fridge just waiting for me to need it. I’ve slowly been replacing the bacon in my life with crispy prosciutto anyway…hello prosciutto BLT. So my brain started wondering, “can I candy prosciutto?” And, guess what? WE CAN! So, that’s what we’re doing today.

We’ll start by arranging our prosciutto in a single layer on a parchment lined baking sheet. Then, we’re going to take some maple syrup and brush a thin layer over the top side of each slice. Next, we’ll sprinkle on a little brown sugar and gently press it right into the maple syrup. And, we’ll finish it off with a baby pinch of black pepper. That’s basically all the work we need to do!

The prosciutto goes in the oven for just a few minutes, but there are a few things to note. One, watch your prosciutto closely. One minute it looks fine and the next minute it’s burnt to a crisp. This can sneak up on you and happen quickly. Two, as the sugary maple mixture oozes off of the prosciutto, it’s going to burn. It’ll actually look burnt around the edges of the meat, but in reality the meat is perfectly cooked. And three, the meat will look a little flimsy when it first comes out of the oven, but it will crisp up beautifully as it cools.

As soon as the prosciutto comes out of the oven, we want to immediately transfer it to a clean parchment paper lined plate. If you let it sit on the original baking sheet, it will stick. And if you transfer it to anything other than parchment paper while it cools, it will also stick. We’re basically coating our prosciutto in caramel, and that ooey gooey goodness it sticky!

To serve, use this candied prosciutto the same way you’d use any candied bacon. It’s great as a little brunch side dish. I absolutely love it in an egg and cheese breakfast sandwich. And, if you put this on a BLT…life changing. I’m actually going to share my recipe for a candied prosciutto BLT in a couple days, so stay tuned!

Alright, everyone! Who’s excited about this new contender for MVP of candied meats? We don’t need to talk about how many times I’ve made candied prosciutto since the first time it popped in my brain, so you can guess where I stand on the topic.

Stay tuned for that upcoming BLT recipe! I hope you guys enjoy, and let’s eat!