DIY: Bacon Roses

That's right, bacon roses. Prepare to be amazed.

I was musing around Pinterest the other day when a friend of mine pinned a DIY for these bacon roses from Instructables. Seeing it threw my entire Valentine's Day plan out the window, they were too perfect for Steve to pass up. You're supposed to drill holes in the bottom of a mini muffin tin but as hard as I tried I just couldn't do it (apparently I'm a major wuss or we need a new drill... I wonder which is more likely?), so I improvised with some tin foil. It actually worked beautifully.

I took photos with my phone along the way so forgive the not-so-hot quality of the pics (I grabbed my camera at the end). I figured I'd whip up a brief tutorial on how I did it since I didn't use the same method as the original instructions.

Tip: Try finding a pack of bacon with the least amount of fat on it. They will cook up much nicer (crispier) the leaner they are. I made the mistake of overlooking this tidbit and I'm sure it would have made a huge difference in the texture.

What you will need:

• 12 fake roses
• Bacon
• Aluminum foil
• Oven safe cooling rack
• Baking sheet
• Toothpicks
• Tall vase
• Chocolate (optional)

Step 1:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place a metal/oven safe cooling rack on top of a baking sheet. This will be your "tray" that holds the bacon and creates an area for the bacon grease to drip as it cooks.

Step 2:
Roll bacon into rose buds and wrap aluminum foil around the bottom, leaving a small hole for the grease to escape, then place them on the cooling rack. I suggest making a few extra in case some turn out a little wonky.

Step 3:
Put the roses in preheated oven for 30-40 minutes, maybe longer depending on your oven. Mine were in for 55.

Step 4:
While the bacon cooks, remove the heads of the fake roses, leaving the top of the stem and leaves intact. Insert toothpicks through the top of the stem, this will give the bacon some stability when you assemble the flowers.

Dead.

Step 5:
Remove bacon from oven once they're nice and crisp.

Step 6:
Unwrap the aluminum foil and allow the pieces to cool completely.

Step 7 (optional):
If you decided to dip them in chocolate, now would be the time to do so. Melt some dark chocolate in a double boiler and coat the bacon as much or little as you like, it's really about personal preference at this point. Put the chocolate covered bacon on a cooling rack and into the fridge to set.

I tried it on three pieces. I knew Steve had never tried it and was really curious, but I didn't want to risk potentially ruining the whole thing by doing them all and having him not enjoy them.

Step 8:
Place the "rosiest" bacon buds on the flower stems and assemble in a vase. My vase was not tall enough whatsoever, it looked a little ridiculous but it got the job done all the same.

Presto!

With flash.

So there you have it! If that's not the way to a man's heart, I don't know what is (and will completely give up, to be honest). His reaction to them was wonderful. I was told the thought process went something like this - She got me roses? But I smell bacon.. wait... what the... are the roses made of bacon?! IS THAT CHOCOLATE? *mindblown*

Sounds about right to me.