Add oven safe wire rack to a sheet pan so it is slightly elevated off the pan. Lay out 8 strips of bacon on the wire rack. It’s okay if the strips overlap slightly. Season with ground pepper.
Baked in a cold 400 degree oven for 10-15 minutes.
Remove bacon and flip the strips.
Bake for another 10 minutes or until very crispy. Let cool briefly before serving.
Chocolate Version
I like the pepper/chocolate combo, but you might want to leave the pepper off if you’re doing a chocolate version. Otherwise, cook bacon as directed above.
Meanwhile, in a small microwave safe bowl, add cream or butter and chocolate and microwave in 15 second bursts until the chocolate is melted and smooth.
When bacon is cooked and cooled to room temperature, drizzle chocolate over bacon. Cool in the fridge for 10-15 minutes so chocolate hardens.
Maple Version
Cook bacon as directed, but when you flip the bacon halfway through, drizzle maple syrup on each strip of bacon. Return bacon to oven to finish cooking.
Let cool slightly before serving.
Candied Bacon
Cook bacon as directed. Meanwhile, mix together brown sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. When you take bacon out halfway through to flip it, sprinkle each strip with brown sugar mixture.