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Bacon Straws

Source of Recipe

From "Trisha's Kitchen" by Trisha Yearwood


Recipe Introduction

"I was on the Garth Brooks World Tour from fall of 2014 through Christmas of 2017. It was a grand adventure with the love of my life. We played multiple shows in one city, so Garth and I would always try to find fun activities to do with the band and crew on a night off or late after the show when you're too excited to go to sleep. One night, after a show in Boston, the founder/executive chairman of Under Armour, Kevin Plank, invited the band and crew to shop after hours in the store. It was a blast! The staff had set up some snacks for us, including these cheesy bacon straws. I tried to be cool and just take one or two, but it was hard not to eat the entire plateful!"

List of Ingredients

â—¦  ¼ cup pure maple syrup
â—¦  2 teaspoons red pepper flakes
â—¦  Juice of ½ orange
â—¦  1 pound regular (not thick-cut) bacon
â—¦  ¼ cup finely grated Cheddar cheese

Special equipment:
â—¦  8 (5-inch) wooden or metal skewers


Recipe

Preheat the oven to 375° F. Fit a rimmed baking sheet with a wire rack.

In a small saucepot, whisk together the maple syrup, red pepper flakes, orange juice, and ¼ cup water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring continuously, then remove from the heat.

Line up the bacon slices on the wire rack and brush them with the hot maple mixture. Sprinkle some cheese on each piece of bacon. With a skewer in hand, fold the end of a piece of bacon in half lengthwise and press the skewer through the end. Do this to 4 pieces of bacon, spreading them out evenly across the skewer, and place the skewer on the baking sheet. Twist the bacon pieces into long spirals so as to create straws. Take another skewer and skewer the bottom of each piece of bacon to keep the bacon twisted. Repeat with all the bacon.

Bake until the bacon browns, about 35 minutes.
Let cool slightly on the rack. The bacon will get crunchy as it sits. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Serves 4 to 6