Sweet and Spicy Bacon Wrapped Butternut Squash
Bacon. That was the one word Hubby gave me when I asked him what he wanted to see in my week of butternut squash recipes.
So I set out to find a bacon and butternut recipe. Once I saw this picture on Tastespotting, there was no question. Duh, everything wrapped in bacon is amazing. Since Hubby suggested it, he offered to cook this recipe for me. It does require a bit of time to ensure the bacon gets cooked all the way through.
All the turning and brushing with the syrup really paid off. The bacon has a great sweet and spicy flavor. And you get a lovely sweet and salty combo when you take a bite because of the bacon. Basically, this is awesome. It would make a great appetizer year-round.
I had to make some modifications to the recipe based on what I had in the house. I didn’t have any sage, so I used oregano. And we were short on maple syrup so I subbed some honey for half of what the recipe needed. Be sure to check out the original recipe to see how it was originally written.
One Year Ago: Crockpot Cranberry Pork Roast
Two Years Ago: Depths of Fall Butternut Squash Pie
Sweet and Spicy Bacon Wrapped Butternut Squash
Yield: 3-4
Ingredients:
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup honey
1/2 Tbsp dried oregano
1 jalapeno chile, seeds and placenta removed.
1 tsp Kosher salt
1/2 tsp black pepper cracked or ground fresh
1 lb butternut squash Cut into 1 in x 4 in sticks (that weight is post-processed)
1/2 lb bacon About 18-20 half-slices
Directions:
Bring maple syrup, honey, oregano, and jalapeno just to a boil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Reduce heat to low and continue to simmer for 10 minutes.
For the butternut squash, preheat oven to 425F. Split each squash transversely at the beginning of the bulbous area where the seeds begin. Peel and cut the seedless end into 4-5 inch long sticks that are roughly a square inch thick. Wrap each squash stick with a half-strip of bacon and place on a wire rack nested in a pan (to catch the ensuing greasy mess). Season with the salt and pepper blend to taste.
Roast for 15 minutes, remove from the oven and brush liberally with the maple glaze. Roast for another 15 minutes, taking care to brush on more glaze at the 7.5 minute mark and finally as the squash comes out of the oven. Let rest 5-10 minutes before serving. Garnish with any additional maple glaze.
Recipe from Something Edible
Boston area readers, don’t forget that I’m selling pies for Pie In the Sky. The cost of your pie will feed someone in need for an entire week! Please consider buying a pie for a good cause.
I am Jen the Beantown Baker. Engineer by day and baking maven by night. Hubby serves as my #1 fan and official taste tester. We got hitched back in 2006. Barefoot. In the sand. With the waves crashing behind us. It was one of the best decisions we’ve ever made. 
I’ll take any leftovers! They sound amazing. I keep saying dessert recipes with bacon and bookmarking them, but I haven’t tried any yet. Adding this one to the list now too. 🙂
These look so terrific. I love the flavor combinations!
I’m intrigued!
interesting! I have a recipe for chocolate bacon fudge or maybe pb bacon fudge but I’m afraid to try it
The frosting sounds amazing. I honestly still can’t bring myself to get behind bacon in desserts. Maybe someday I’ll try a bacon cupcake if I’m given one though. 🙂 I can only resist so long.
YUM! These look so good! I haven’t tried the bacon / sweet combo yet, but I’m sure I would love it!
This looks delicious but I’ve got to ask….what is a pirate party?
Fun and Fearless – It’s exactly like it sounds… Everyone dresses up as a pirate (or something related – Hubby and I went as Treasure maps last year). They even hire this guy who looks like Captain Jack Sparrow to come and there’s a prize for best costume. One of the best parties of the year!
Sounds great! The problem I’ve seen with bacon is that sometimes it is chewy in cupcakes. That’s not good. I like that this recipe says to cook until crispy. Extra crispy for me!
My favorite candy bar is bacon chocolate!!! I can’t wait to try this 🙂
Wow, those look and sound amazing!
oh yum. after putting bacon in last years cookies this might need to be next 🙂
I’m so curious to try bacon in baked goods, but do you think turkey bacon would work?
Corrine – I’m sure turkey bacon would work if you could get it nice and crispy. I’ve heard that if the bacon isn’t super crispy, it has a really weird chewy texture in baked goods.
Thanks Jen! I’m going to give it a try!
This has just about everything that I would want to go together. Awesome recipe!
This is certianly a unqiue mixture of tastes and textures, but it comes together nicely. Definatly a must try!
Chocolate..caramel…bacon…PERFECTION.
I am infatuated with the perfect smoky/salty addition of bacon into sweet baked goods. So delicious. Of course, I’m kind of a fan of adding bacon into just about anything.
Great pics, def wanna try these out!
Sorry the cupcakes didn’t turn out like you wanted. Have you ever tried the bacon/chocolate cupcake at Cherry Bomb Bakery in Brighton? They are fantastic!