This Smoked Bacon Wrapped Asparagus is drizzled in olive oil and topped with Parmesan cheese. Both simple and delicious, this side dish pairs perfectly with many main dishes and makes for an amazing appetizer!
Smoked side dishes are just the best. I love anything wrapped in bacon. I also love anything smoked on the smoker but this Smoked Bacon Wrapped Asparagus recipe just won my heart. This recipe is so easy to make and you're going to love the smoked bacon taste. I make a lot of smoker recipes and the ones that contain smoked bacon, like my Smoker Beans with Bacon, get the best reviews.
Ingredients for Asparagus Wrapped in Bacon
Here's what you'll need for this recipe:
- Asparagus
- Bacon - pork or turkey
- Olive oil
- Salt
- Pepper
- Parmesan Cheese
All these ingredients in this recipe are gluten free.
Prepping the Smoker
For this recipe, you'll want to preheat the smoker until it reaches 250°F. Preparing the smoker is super important when it comes to smoking food. You've got to prepare the water pan, get the chips/chunks ready, and get the smoker pre-heated. I go into detail on how to prepare your smoker in my Applewood Smoked Chicken recipe. Check it out here on Step 4 - Preparing the Smoker.
How to Make Smoked Bacon Wrapped Asparagus
Start with trimming the asparagus stalks:
The first thing you'll do is cut the ends off the fresh asparagus. I love the taste of asparagus but if the ends are too long, the taste is overbearing. So cut off about 2 inches at the end of each stalk.
Blanch the asparagus:
Add water to a large pan and bring to a rolling boil. Add the fresh asparagus to the boiling water. You'll notice the asparagus will turn bright green in color. This means the asparagus is starting to tenderize. Blanch for a total of 2-3 minutes and then remove the asparagus stalks from the water.
Season the Asparagus:
I grab a gallon Ziplock bag and add the olive oil, salt, and pepper. Then, I add the blanched asparagus spears and mix well until the asparagus is coated.
Take 4-5 asparagus sprigs out of the Ziplock bag and wrap a piece of bacon around the stalks. Repeat until all the asparagus is wrapped in a piece of bacon. Add a little bit of salt and pepper and add fresh Parmesan cheese.
Add the prepared asparagus spears wrapped in bacon to an aluminum pan. You want to make sure the pan you use is smoker safe. If the pan is oven safe, it's fine to use in the smoker.
Place the pan in the smoker uncovered. Smoke for 30-45 minutes until the bacon is done.
When it's done smoking, you'll have the most AMAZING smoked side dish ready to pair with any main dish.
Tips for Smoking Bacon Wrapped Asparagus
- This Asparagus Wrapped Bacon recipe is not only a great side dish, but also makes for an amazing appetizer!
- When blanching the asparagus, use just enough water to cover the asparagus. If you use too much water, the asparagus can start to turn mushy.
- You can use turkey bacon or pork bacon. I chose to use turkey bacon and it turned out amazing!
- If you don't have a smoker, you can grill this asparagus wrapped in bacon. Follow the same preparation steps above but instead of placing these in the smoker, place them in a grilling basket that's safe for your grill.
Other Smoker Recipes
If you love making and eating smoked food, you have to check out these other smoker recipes.
If you loved this recipe, give this recipe a star review! Also, snap a picture of your finished dish and share it with me on Instagram using the hashtag #recipesworthrepeating and tagging me @recipesworthrepeating.
Smoked Bacon Wrapped Asparagus
Ingredients
- 30 asparagus spears
- 1 package of bacon, (turkey or pork)
- olive oil, drizzle
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- ¼ cup Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
Instructions
- Preheat your smoker until it reaches an internal temperature of 250°F.
- Cut 2 inches of the end of each asparagus stalk off and toss.
- Add water to a large pan and bring to a rolling boil. Add the fresh asparagus to the boiling water. Blanch for a total of 2-3 minutes and then remove the asparagus stalks from the water.
- In a gallon Ziplock baggie, add the olive oil, salt, and pepper. Next, add the blanched asparagus spears and mix well until the asparagus is coated.
- Take 5 asparagus stalks out of the Ziplock bag and wrap a piece of bacon around the stalks. Repeat until all the asparagus is wrapped in a piece of bacon. Sprinkle salt, pepper and fresh Parmesan cheese on top of each bunch.
- Add the prepared asparagus spears wrapped in bacon to an aluminum pan. Place pan in the smoker uncovered.
- Smoke at 250°F for 30-45 minutes until the bacon is done. Serve immediately.
Notes
- Nutritional information is calculated using turkey bacon.
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