How to Make a Bacon Weave
April 13, 2020
Learning how to make a bacon weave is simple and the uses are endless! Use bacon weaves on meatloaf, turkeys, vegetables, and more to add flavor and moisture.
What is a Bacon Weave?
Ah, the bacon weave. Not only is it a thing of unparalleled beauty, but it is also a functional and unbelievable tasty tool to have in your culinary toolbox. A bacon weave is essentially interwoven strips of bacon that can be used to add flavor, moisture, or structure to meat or vegetables.
It’s much simpler to create than it may appear. Just a slab of beautifully sliced bacon (homemade if you like), some parchment paper, and a few minutes of your time is all it takes to master this piece of meat art. So what are you waiting for? Grab some bacon and start weaving.
How to Make a Bacon Weave
- Step 1: Layout 5 (or 6, depending on how big your bacon is) pieces of bacon on a sheet of parchment paper. Don’t skip the parchment paper! This makes it so easy to transfer your bacon weave wherever you need it when you’re finished.
- Step 2: Fold back just the ends on 2 of your pieces of bacon. Make sure to skip a piece of bacon in between each piece that you fold back. This creates the “over and under” weave you’re looking for.
- Step 3: Lay another piece of bacon across the pieces of bacon that weren’t folded back. Unfold the pieces of bacon over the new piece of bacon and voila! You’re first woven piece! Ain’t she pretty!
- Step 4: This time, fold back the ends of the 3 pieces of bacon that you skipped during Step 1.
- Step 5: Lay down another piece of bacon and unfold the 3 pieces you folded back.
- Step 6: Repeat until you have woven all 10 pieces together.
That’s it! Your weave is complete. Since you were so smart and made your weave on parchment paper, you’re now free to carry it anywhere and roll that piece of art onto anything that needs a blanket of bacon (which is pretty much everything, amIright?!)
What is the best bacon to use?
I recommend using thinner sliced bacon when making bacon weaves. Thick bacon has a tendency to get chewy and rubbery in the portions of the weave where it is covered by another piece of bacon. Thinner bacon allows the fat to render more quickly, meaning more of your bacon gets cooked through without getting tough.
Recipes Using Bacon Weaves:
For the bacon lovers among us, I’ve created several recipes that utilize bacon weaves to season, moisturize, and hold things together. Consider a bacon weave the duct tape of BBQ.
BBQ Meatloaf with a Bacon Weave
Green Chile Pork Fatty
Bacon-Wrapped Smoked Cabbage
Triple Pork Breakfast Fatty
The Big Fat Fatty Burger
Bacon-Wrapped Turkey Breast
Bacon Weave Instructions
Follow the instructions below, and I’ll teach you the simple steps to making a wimple bacon weave. If you’re looking to make better BBQ, so you can feed the people you love, and become a backyard BBQ hero, join my members-only group The Grill Squad for full access to all my meat, rubs, sauces, and meat buying masterclasses, exclusive podcasts, and so much more.
Making dinner for your family should be easy, and Hey Grill Hey is here to help! Over at Patio Provisions, we have sauces, rubs, and more to save you time and energy when making something for an upcoming get together. Check it out today!
How To Make a Bacon Weave
Equipment
-
Parchment Paper
Ingredients
- 10 slices bacon
Instructions
-
Build the base. Layout 5 pieces of bacon on a sheet of parchment paper. The parchment paper makes it easy to transfer your bacon weave wherever you need it when you're finished.
-
Fold alternating pieces of bacon. Fold back just the ends on two of your pieces of bacon. Make sure to skip a piece of bacon in between each piece that you fold back. This creates the "over and under" weave you're looking for.
-
Weave your first piece of bacon. Lay one piece of bacon perpendicular across the pieces of bacon that weren't folded back in the previous step. Unfold the two ends of the bacon over the new piece of bacon and voila! You're first woven piece!
-
Weave your second piece of bacon. Fold the ends of the three pieces of bacon that you skipped during Step Two back over the first weave you just made, leaving 2 pieces of bacon flat on your parchment paper. Lay another piece of bacon perpendicular on top of those 2 remaining pieces of bacon. Return the 3 folded pieces of bacon to their original position over the top of the piece you just laid down. You should have a second woven piece of bacon.
-
Repeat until completed. Follow the pattern of folding back alternating pieces of bacon (skipping a piece in between), laying down a new perpendicular piece on top, and returning the bacon until your weave is complete.
-
Tighten your weave. Use your fingertips to slide the pieces of bacon closer together to tighten your bacon weave. Bacon will shrink when cooked, so starting with a tight weave is important.
-
Transfer your weave. Use the parchment paper to transfer your bacon weave to whatever food you desire to top with a weave of bacon!
**This post was originally written in January 2016, but it has been updated with more information.
