Oh, you betcha. We’re really doing this.
Why? Because who wouldn’t want a fresh picked bouquet of salt-cured meat? It’s possibly the most romantic display of affection, ever.
Remember this tutorial on cute little felt rosettes? Sort of the same thing going on here. But with bacon. Oooh, is anyone else having visions of a bacon wreath now? Just me? Okay. Anyway, take a strip of bacon and roll it up. Most strips of bacon have a “meaty” edge and a “fatty” edge. You’ll want the meaty edge to be the top of the flower, so keep the fatty edge aligned at the bottom. On a side-note, I think that’s the first time I’ve used the terms “meaty” and “fatty” when describing flowering shrub. I knew I went into horticulture for a reason…
Keep a pair of clean scissors nearby as well. If your bacon is oddly shaped you may need to snip off a bit after you roll to make it lay nicely. Now, I’ve seen lots of ways to make these after my sister first sent me a link, and some of them called for ridiculous things like drilling holes through a mini muffin pan. There’s no need to ruin your best bakeware here, just grab some toothpicks. Insert them in the bottom of the roll, keeping them both as close to the bottom of the bacon as possible and close to each other. You can actually do this without toothpicks, but it’s a little safer with them, since sometimes the bacon comes unraveled.
This not only holds the bacon together, but it creates a little stand for it, so it doesn’t topple over during cooking. Place those little beauties on a rack, sitting over a foil-lined baking sheet. Cooking them on a rack lets the bottoms cook as well so you don’t end up with mushy-bottomed flowers. Because that would be an atrocity.
Pop them in a 400 degree oven for 20-30 minutes. The outside should be crisped and browned, and the inside won’t be crisp, but it will be cooked.
After my little rosebuds came out of the oven, I realized I wanted a heftier flower in there, and thus was born- the jumbo bacon flower:
Just layer on another strip. That’s a real man-flower, there.
Now, for such a thing as glorious as a bacon flower, you really need to display it tastefully. Super tastefully.
So grab some discount silk flowers from the craft store. I found these in the clearance bin outside Michael’s for 75% off, plus I had a 20% coupon that was apparently only for Canadians, but since I totally look Canadian and know all of the words to Oh Canada I got to use it. Bam.
The only thing that can be really annoying is if you grab a batch of flowers that happen to be super-glued onto the stems, which some are. So just take a quick peek, and make sure you’re buying the kind that can be easily pulled apart.
Pull those red petals off. Some flowers have several parts in there that you might have to disassemble, but basically, you want this part left:
That green base and the thing sticking up in the middle of it. The bigger the “thing” the better for your bacon stability. Wow, that sounds very technical. Pop those babies right in there, like they were always meant to be.
And then gaze upon the beauty and majesty of the salty blooms, freshly picked from your kitchen. If only bacon roses really grew in the ground…
Guaranteed to make grown men swoon. Or at least giggle like little girls. Either way it’s a win-win for you.
And just because I know you need it, here’s a printable to go along side that gorgeous vase on your table:
Happy Baconing.
And Happy Pinning to you Pinners:
Questions & Reviews
Am I the only one who realized how disgusting this is?! Haha! Disgusting and amazing all at once! It would be an amazing april fools trick though.
I loved this idea! I made them for fathers day, and they turned out looking great! My Hubby and little girl loved them!
I made these for Father’s Day and my husband said it was the best thing ever! When he first saw the bouquet he didn’t realize what it was and then he practically screamed like a little girl when he saw it was bacon. This has now been declared a Father’s Day tradition by my husband and 16 year old son. Thanks for a great treat that was sooo easy to make!
I was the hit yesterday. I made waffles with strawberries and whipped cream (which I thought was pretty wow!), and my bacon roses were all my husband could talk about. He bragged to my family, his family and his friends at church. They were so easy and I was the rock star of Father’s Day breakfast. Not the first time I have gotten a great recipe from your website or your book, for that matter. My family is the most important thing in my life and your tips and recipes help me excel at this important mission. Love you two!
Yikes, not such a great idea this time…
Made just one of these and I used pre-cooked bacon from Costco. I was baking something else so I just rolled up the flower and threw it on a pan and checked back a bit later. It totally worked and my husband just kept shaking his head, but he loved it. Thanks for sharing!
I made these for my hubby for Father’s Day today. He was the envy of all his friends! lol It was awesome 🙂 Thanks for a great idea!
I adore your site & your recipes…..but………are you running out of ideas?
Wow, these would be so perfect for fathers day!! Haha, its a shame my dad is going out on a business trip ): maybe when he gets back i’ll greet him with this beautiful (and delicious) bouquet!
Every Friday, I share my favorite food finds in a series called Food Fetish Friday. I love this post so much I’m featuring it as part of the roundup (with a link-back and attribution) and I hope you have no objections. It’s a pleasure following your creations…
So I just linked this to my Facebook page and I have never received so many comments so quickly. What a funny idea!
I can’t wait to try this. That is the best thing to make for my husband and my dad, They would both love it.
I’m doing this. Awesome. Totally Awesome.
Since there’s only the two of us, my husband and I use the microwave bacon (4 slices approx. 20 seconds). When the slices come out of the microwave they are soft and get crisp as they cool. If I rolled the strips into flower shapes while they were still flexible and held them with a toothpick, the entire rosebud would be nice and crispy when cooled. Love this website!
This is going to be SO fun!!! Thanks for the great idea!
I truly don’t see why you would ever take all the time that this would take to do this. I also thought this must be an April Fool’s gag!
If you don’t see the value, then you are not truly a bacon lover.
Haha, it’s just silly fun!
This comment makes babies cry daily.
Love this!! How does the bacon stay though? I would think it was heavier than the fake rose and would fall off??? no?
You definitely need to be gentle and they’re not for carrying around, but as long as you have that plastic part in the middle of the flower, it should hold them on well enough to look pretty!
Through the entire post all I heard in my brain was that crazy dog from the Beggin Strips commercial yelling, “IT’S BACON! Yum, yum, yum, yum, yum!”
BUhahahaha!
That looks really good.
Well, I posted a comment yesterday but it doesn’t look like it posted. I think they would be great with the bottom dipped in melted chocolate (perhaps dark) and then attached to the stems.
Oh man, I am SO making this for my husband! He’ll LOVE it 🙂
One of THE BEST ideas EVER!!!!!! I’m so making this bouquet for my bestie on her birthday with Lindor balls too!
Omgosh how neat! Your printable made me almost laugh out loud (and wake my sleeping hubby on the couch! haha). I think I just might have to do this for him! He’d LOVE it! 🙂
You have no idea how much my husband loves bacon!!!!! He buys these huge economy packs of bacon from Winco and we go through possibly several a week. We are so doing this bouquet for Father’s Day. Thank you so much for the fantabulous idea;-)
HAHAHAHA, best man-bouquet ever! SERIOUSLY Gen.i.us. Might have to supersize it to bacon-bush proportions, if I know my family!
Yeah, that is amazing! And such a fun idea for Father’s Day!
I will be featuring it on my site tomorrow! I love you ladies and your fabulous ideas!!
OMG! This is great! My husband is turning 50 next month. I am SO going to cook bacon and send a bouquet to his work!!!
Does the two-strip flower require more cooking time to be cooked all the way through?
Yeah, it will take a little longer, but surprisingly not too much longer.
Umm, there is no way I couldn’t make this for Drew for Father’s Day. Except I might have to put some Lindor ball blooms in there along with the bacon. 🙂 He will love it. Thanks! 🙂
Oh man, a Lindor-Bacon bouquet would make ME weak in the knees!
Super cute and funny and what a great idea. It also reminds me of the bacon flavored Torani syrup.