Ingredients:
6 strips of fully cooked microwavable bacon
Ground jalapeno or cayenne powder (optional)
Brown sugar (optional)
18 spinach leaves
Materials needed:
Paper towels
Thin wooden toothpicks
Scissors
6 Shish kebob wooden skewers
Clear tape
Directions:
1. Place a paper towel on a microwaveable plate. Place the bacon on the paper towel slightly spaced apart. Rub a few pinches of jalapeno of cayenne powder on each piece of bacon. Rub a very thin layer of brown sugar evenly on each piece of bacon and microwave on high for 15 seconds (this will partially cook and soften up the bacon so it’s easier to roll into a rose). Remove plate of bacon to the counter and let cool for 1 minute. Take notice of the bacon sitting on the plate, one half usually has more meat and the other half has more fat. To make your bacon roses look really nice you will want the meatier side to be the top part of the rose flower. Starting at one end, roll the bacon to the other end (making sure not to wrap too tight, but also leaving room in the middle of the rose for the skewer to fit through). Place two toothpicks through the bottom of the fatty side, forming a cross (see picture below recipe).
2. Place the bacon roses back onto the microwavable plate, sitting upright on the toothpick cross you made. Microwave on high for 10 seconds. Let cool for 20 seconds. Repeat until you get the desired crispiness of the bacon you like. If you did use brown sugar on the bacon, be careful as it will start burning if cooked too long.
3. See the pictures at the bottom the recipe to get a better idea of the following instructions.
Making the sepal rose base for the 6 bacon roses to sit on: Using 6 spinach leaves, cut each into a star shape (this will make it look like the sepals of a rose flower). Using the pointed end of one skewer, poke a hole in the center of one of a spinach star and slide to within half an inch of the opposite end. Tape the spinach star to the skewer so it doesn’t move. Repeat for the remaining 5 skewers and respective 5 spinach stars.
4. Making the lower 2 spinach rose leaves for each rose stem:
Using small stripes of tape. Tape the 2 spinach leaves by their stems to each skewer (about 2 inches below the star shaped sepal base). Repeat for the other skewers.
5. Attach each bacon rose on the top of each skewer and corresponding star shaped sepal base. Place your bacon roses in a vase or green Styrofoam base. I usually leave the toothpicks in the bacon. The bacon roses will look better by holding them in place and will keep them from unraveling. Be sure to notify everyone about the toothpicks. I have witnessed very happy and hungry bacon rose recipients pop the whole rose in their mouth before I could tell them about the toothpicks.
Recipe: Thick Cut Oven Baked Bacon Roses
Ingredients:
6 strips of thick cut bacon
Ground jalapeno or cayenne powder (optional)
Brown sugar (optional)
18 spinach leaves
Materials needed:
Paper towels
Thin wooden toothpicks (soaked in water for 20 minutes prior to using in oven)
Scissors
6 Shish kebob wooden skewers
Clear tape
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil (including the rim to make cleanup easier). Place an oven safe wire rack inside the prepared baking sheet. Place the bacon on the rack slightly spaced apart. Rub a few pinches of jalapeno or cayenne powder on each piece of bacon. Rub a thin layer of brown sugar evenly on each piece of bacon. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the bacon is just starting to get crispy on the edges (partially cooking the bacon for now, you will finish cooking it later). Remove the baking sheet to a wire rack and let cool 8 minutes.
2. Remove bacon to a paper towel. Take notice of the bacon sitting on the paper towel, one half usually has more meat and the other half has more fat. To make your bacon roses look really nice you will want the meatier side to be the top of the rose flower. Starting at one end, roll the bacon to the other end (making sure not to wrap too tight, but also leaving room in the middle of the rose for the skewer to fit through). Place two toothpicks through the bottom of the fatty side, forming a cross (see picture above recipe).
3. Place the bacon roses back onto the wire rack/baking sheet, sitting upright on the toothpick cross you made. Bake for an additional 5-8 minutes or until you get the required crispiness desired. If you did use brown sugar on the bacon, be careful as it will start burning if cooked too long. Remove baking sheet to a wire rack to cool.
4. See the pictures above the recipe to get a better idea of the following instructions.
Making the sepal rose base for the 6 bacon roses to sit on: Using 6 spinach leaves, cut each into a star shape (this will make it look like the sepals of a rose flower). Using the pointed end of one skewer, poke a hole in the center of a spinach star and slide to within half an inch of the opposite end. Tape the spinach star to the skewer so it doesn’t move. Repeat for the remaining 5 skewers and respective 5 spinach stars.
5. Making the lower 2 spinach rose leaves for each rose stem:
Using small stripes of tape. Tape the 2 spinach leaves by their stems to each skewer (about 2 inches below the star shaped sepal base). Repeat for the other skewers.
6. Attach each bacon rose on the top of each skewer and corresponding star shaped sepal base. Place your finished bacon roses in a vase or green Styrofoam base. I usually leave the toothpicks in the bacon. The bacon roses will look better by holding them in place and will keep them from unraveling. Be sure to notify everyone about the toothpicks. I have witnessed very happy and hungry bacon rose recipients pop the whole rose in their mouth before I could tell them about the toothpicks.