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:
I love you so much for this recipe! I was totally looking for something creative, fun and practical to give my husband for his birthday, which is coming up this weekend and this will be the perfect gift for my guy as he is a lover of all things meat. He is also a hot head with an affinity for all things sweet so I may do a mix of chocalate dipped and cayene pepper dipped buds, but thanks again for a great tutorial.
You.Are.Hilarious.
And talented. But I rarely read through the whole blog of something, and here I am, waiting for your next funny word. Bam!
I made these for Valentines Day last year for my boyfriend. He loved them. All our friends were extremely jealous of his bacon bouquet. I’m glad I found the site again to refresh myself on the recipe.
I was entering a contest when the conversation evolved into the bacon rose bouquet I made my boyfriend (now ex) last year using these very instructions. 🙂 So if you get a bump in traffic, now you know why. 🙂 Even though we aren’t dating anymore, he wants me to make him another bouquet of pig candy…he loved this that much!!! Who can resist bacon roses…??? 😉
This bacon bouquet would go great with the Ron Swanson Valentine from a few weeks ago.
Yes but has anyone tried dipping them in chocolate??? Just curious. When i make them I might dip them in dark chocolate just for fun.
This is a great fun gift for bacon lovers. My best friend’s grandson Andrew joked that he loves bacon so much that he thought girls should wear bacon perfume! This will be a bigger hit, I think.
Nailed it!! Thank you!!!
Have you tried rolling in some cheese? I bet it would be great with some cheddar!
I’ve looked everywhere for how to make these and this is the best site I came across.. Asking my boyfriend to prom this weekend with a lovely bacon bouqet (: thank you so much!
I did this for Valentine’s Day and it was a hit! I used the silk flower petals in the vase to add color:)
Hi Sara! I made these today for my fiancé’s Valentine treat! Thanks for the excellent directions on how to make them 🙂 I’m so glad they were successful and not a candidate for the Pinterest Hall of Shame 😀
I know it’s a travesty, but I used turkey bacon and it put a nice scalloped edge on the buds. I didn’t make it to the craft store for the foliage, so I used 2 spinach leaves on each plate with a bud on top and heart-shaped toast on the side. I made them on Monday, stored them in the freezer, and microwaved for 1 minute. My boys loved it! Thanks for the great idea!
What size bacon do you use and when does the salt come into play? I’m trying to make this for valentines day for my boyfriend!! This is awesome!
Normal bacon strips. What salt?
This is a cool thing i love it. I have 2 questions. How do you sanitize the stems to put the bacon on because I don’t like things that’s not sanitized touching my food. How to you make the bacon stay on the stems. I love this and I know my husband would love it. This would be something I would have to make for the guys in the family once I understand it all.
Excellent instructions, thank you! I was pretty sure there was a better way to do it than getting out the power tools. These are going to be a get-well bouquet I will bring to a friend in the hospital tomorrow. He’ll definitely heal faster with bacon!!
Thanks for a great set of instructions. These were super easy to make, adorable once put together and my guy said they were tasty too. Made for a fun Valentine’s Day surprise.
How do you store them if not gifting them immediately? Would you put them in the fridge? Thanks for the great idea!
Oh by the way, I noticed someone asked about using thick cut Bacon…. I accidentally grabbed some of that and just decided to try it out and it worked great. Made very cute thick flowers.