Hickory Bacon Wrapped Asparagus

Trim the asparagus with a knife. Line up your bundle of asparagus and make a cut about 1 to 1 1/2 inches away from the base end. You want to cut off the part that looks pale green/white and seems harder than the rest of the spear. This is the fastest method because you can trim multiple spears at once, but it’s not the most accurate. Each stem’s woody end can vary in length.

Since this recipe is for 2 servings we will be making 4 bundles total. Depending upon the thickness of your asparagus the number of spears in each bundle will vary. If you have thicker asparagus you can use 3-4 spears but if they are smaller you can use 7-9 in each bundle.

Pick up the first asparagus bundle. Place one end of a slice of bacon at the end of the strip. (I start from the bottom of the bundle b/c I cut the stalks small. If you choose to keep the asparagus stalks longer, you will start the wrap of bacon about midway on the bundle.) Wrap the bacon around the stalk so that it slightly overlaps the first end and secures it into place. Continue wrapping, working your way down the stalk until you reach the other end of the bacon. At this point I use toothpicks broken in half. I place one 1/2 of the toothpick at the top of the bundle and the other 1/2 at the bottom. (This just adds a little more stability to the bacon/asparagus bundle during the cooking process.) Once the bundles are wrapped w/ bacon and secured w/ toothpicks, you can season the outside top and bottom of each bundle. Of course I used Mike Church's Beast and Butt Rub but you can use any seasoning you'd like.

Place the bacon wrapped asparagus bundles on parchment paper that is on a flat tray. Tray can be glass or metal, round or square it truly doesn't matter. Place into the oven at 350 degrees and bake for approximately 15 minutes or until your bacon is cooked. You can add time if you like your bacon crispier. NOTE: Depending on the size of the asparagus and/or the thickness of the bacon used, this cook time can be decreased or increased.