Bacon Straws for Jaden

One of the highlights of Last years’ foodbuzz blogger festival was a wonderful brunch at LuLu in San Francisco.  I got to sit and hang out with some very old and dear online friends who are now just old friends.  The day was amazing! This post is about just one part of that day and a certain super-blogger’s love of bacon.

Yes Jaden, I’m talking about you.

While we talked about many things over that brunch, the topic kept going back to bacon.  Not only because the bacon at LuLu was somehow better than most other I’ve ever had, but because Jaden just couldn’t resist going back for “one more piece” every few minutes.

At some point in the conversation someone quipped that we should just make the bacon into a straw to go with the bloody mary (or it could have been a virgin mary, I didn’t check) that she was drinking.

I thought that was a brilliant idea, and while it’s more of a “From the playing with your food” files than it is a recipe, I went ahead and made sure it happened.  It just took me a while.

So this post finds itself dedicated to the venerable and ever so sweet Jaden Hair of Jaden’s Steamy Kitchen.  These bacon straws are for you, my friend.  Perhaps you can enjoy them with your next Bloody Mary.  Oh, and if you haven’t already done so, go grab a copy of Jaden’s cookbook: The Steamy Kitchen Cookbook. It’s full of wonderful recipes your family is sure to enjoy. You won’t regret it, I promise you that.

Yield: 8 straws

Bacon Straws for Jaden

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes

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Ingredients

• 1 pound thick-cut pepper bacon

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees (204C).
2. Carefully tie one end of bacon slice around a wooden dowel or copper tube with butcher's twine. (I'm opting for the copper next time.) Wrap bacon around the tube and tie off the end. Repeat as many times as the tube or dowel will allow.
4. Bake on a cooling rack placed on a baking sheet for approximately 25 minutes or until bacon is crisp. (If using copper you'll have to check starting at around 10 minutes. I haven't tried this method yet.)
6. Let cool for 5 minutes and carefully remove straws from the dowel or tube.
7. Repeat as necessary.
8. Share and Enjoy!

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

8

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 265Total Fat: 20gSaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 12gCholesterol: 56mgSodium: 955mgCarbohydrates: 1gFiber: 0gSugar: 0gProtein: 19g

I used wooden dowels for this attempt, but was not terribly happy with the results.  I think that when I do this again (and yes, I’ll be doing it again.  The kids loved it!) I’m going to use copper tubing so that the bacon cooks both crisper and faster.  I may also try this using a super thin pork product like prosciutto for a more delicate looking finished product.

But those are experiments for a later date…

Remember everyone.  It’s fun to play with your food sometimes!