International Bacon Day is Saturday. Here are 18 ways to celebrate

If you’re a bacon fan, it’s not like you need a special day to enjoy your favorite food. Still, even this most amazing of foods gets its own holiday, designated as the Saturday before Labor Day. That would be tomorrow.

Moment of silence, please.

In observance of this most hallowed of days, we’ve compiled 18 of our favorite recipes. From breakfast to dessert, main courses to sides, you can celebrate. All. Day. Long.

Go crazy with our panzanella recipe (it uses both bacon and bacon fat). Want bacon with your pie? Dig into a slice of our pumpkin pie — it’s made in a bacon-and-bourbon-infused pie crust. We even include salads and vegetable dishes if you’re looking for something a little greener.

And, yes, you can drink your bacon too.

CANDIED BACON MARTINI

Total time: 35 minutes

Servings: 4

Note: The candied bacon recipe is adapted from “The Gift of Southern Cooking: Recipes and Revelations From Two Great American Cooks� by Edna Lewis and Scott Peacock.

CANDIED BACON

8 slices smoked bacon

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons light brown sugar

Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil, shiny side up. Dredge the bacon on both sides in the brown sugar and arrange the slices so they do not touch on the sheet. Bake until the bacon is richly caramelized, 15 to 25 minutes. Use a pair of tongs to transfer the bacon strips to a cooling rack and allow the excess fat to drain. Serve warm as candy or cool until hardened for the martinis.

CANDIED BACON MARTINIS

6 ounces premium vodka

4 ounces Applejack brandy

2 ounces amaretto liqueur

2 ounces maple syrup, preferably grade “B�

4 thin slices tart apple, such as Granny Smith

2 slices candied bacon, halved crosswise

Chill four martini glasses. In a large cocktail shaker, combine the vodka, brandy, amaretto and maple syrup with ice. Shake until combined and chilled. Strain the cocktail into the chilled glasses and garnish each with an apple slice and half a slice of candied bacon. Serve immediately.

Each serving: 284 calories; 1 gram protein; 21 grams carbohydrates; 0 fiber; 1 gram fat; 0 saturated fat; 3 mg. cholesterol; 78 mg. sodium.

Love bacon as much as I do? Follow me @noellecarter

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