Bacon Wrapped Asparagus
These were fun! Not only were they easy to make, mostly by Little B, but no complication, even minor, of adding seasoning or flavors. Yes, I know. That is the magic of bacon! I was tempted to marinate the asparagus first, but decided to try simpler, and it worked wonderfully. We sat on the porch and rolled them while Big D set up the fire in the grill. Is it gas or charcoal, you ask? I won’t tell Big D yo said that. Of course it is charcoal. Although level and length of heat may vary compared to gas, there is no comparison when it comes to the flavors transferred to food from the charcoal fire. For the pictured batch of asparagus we (more precisely he) grilled it. They were a little dark, because of the high fire heat, but it gave the dish a wonderful crispiness and the asparagus was bright green and just tender enough. Although easy to serve as a side dish daintily cut up alongside a steak, we scarfed them down with our fingers, which made them more of an appetizer. In the future I plan on cooking them up in a pan on the stove or in the oven. I will update you on how it goes. For now, we have a quick side dish for an all-grilled meal. The accompanying steaks were to die for, by the way…
Bacon Wrapped Asparagus
1 pound asparagus spears, tough ends removed
1 pound sliced bacon, room temperature
Combine asparagus spears in multiple bundles so each one does not exceed 1/2 inch diameter (could be one to three spears). Wrap a strip of bacon around each bundle at a diagonal, so most of the asparagus is covered. Cooking approaches: 1) grill bundles over medium to high heat until bacon is crisp. Remove and let cool until warm enough to eat, or 2) heat the broiler to medium and place on broiling pan. When top side is crisp (three to five minutes) turn over to crisp on underside. Remove from broiler and let cool, or 3) heat large skillet to medium high heat. Place rolls in the pan and cook until bacon is crisp, like you would for breakfast. Remove from pan and let cool before serving.