These dangerously addictive little bites fueled countless 1950s and '60s bridge parties from Greenwood Mississippi, to Greenville, South Carolina, before being rescued from recipe-box oblivion by modern Southern cooks like Martha Hall Foose. And thank goodness. Magic happens when a cracker slowly sops up the fat from smoky, crisping bacon; it transforms into something more akin to piecrust. Unadorned, bacon crackers are pure pork perfection. The addition of a tine bundle of rosemary needles makes for a fancified version, while topping the "belt" of bacon with a bit of brown sugar adds a hint of sweet to the smoke.

　　

Ingredients

Makes 48 Crackers, Serves 12

　　12 bacon slices (not thick-cut)

　　48 saltines or buttery crackers, such as Club brand

　　48 fresh rosemary tips (for Herbed Bacon Crackers)

　　6 teaspoons dark brown sugar (for Brown Sugar Bacon Crackers)

　　

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 250°F. Line the bottom of a broiler pan with foil for easy cleanup.

　　

Step 2

Cut the bacon slices in half lengthwise and then crosswire to create 4 long strips.

　　

Step 3

Arrange the crackers on a work surface and wrap a bacon strip around each cracker, overlapping the ends on top.

　　

Step 4

If making Herbed Bacon Crackers, tuck a base of rosemary tips under overlapping ends of bacon. If making Brown Sugar Bacon Crackers, carefully sprinkle 1/8 teaspoon brown sugar on the top side of each cracker, pressing to help it adhere (avoid getting sugar on the cracker or it will burn.)

　　

Step 5

Set a perforated rack on top of the foil-lined broiler pan and arrange the crackers seam-side down 1/2 apart in a single layer and bake for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, until the bacon is at your desired level of crispness. Transfer the crackers to a cooling rack and cool completely before serving.

　　Buy the full book from HarperCollins or from Amazon. Recipe from The Southerner's Cookbook, by Editors of Garden & Gun. Copyright © 2015 by Editors of Garden & Gun. Reprinted by permission of Harper Wave, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.