Bacon Chestnut Rolls

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So many recipes lately, but, honestly, what else is there to do in the winter except cook? To be fair, we’ve had a rather mild winter here in Michigan so far so we’ve been spending some extra time outside. There is nothing like a combination of sun on your face during the day paired with a good dinner to a good night’s sleep. Well, unless you have an infant that likes to wake up and nurse throughout the night in which case there is nothing in the world that can help with your sleep. Anyways, today’s recipe has been in my family for a long time and it’s something that my mom makes for Christmas every single year. We have so many Christmas recipes it seems- snowballs, pretzels, and ribbon jello being a few. Let’s introduce you to the next one- bacon chestnut rolls!

Ingredients

• 1 can whole water chestnuts, cut in half
• 1 lb bacon

Sauce Ingredients

• 1 cup ketchup
• ⅔ cup brown sugar
• 2 tsp soy sauce (or liquid aminos)

Directions for Bacon Chestnut Rolls

Wrap each half of chestnut with a slice of bacon. 

Secure with a toothpick. 

Place on a foil-lined baking sheet that has sides to prevent grease from running off.

Bake for 30 minutes at 350.

Pour off the grease and return to the baking sheet.

• At this point in the recipe you could freeze these in advance to use them later, making them an even better recipe because we LOVE getting things done ahead of time.

Mix sauce ingredients together.

Dip each bacon/but in sauce and return to the baking sheet.

Bake again for 20 minutes at 350 or 7 minutes in the microwave.

Tips & Tricks

I don’t love using toothpicks to make this work. I wrap them and then flip the seam side down on the pan. When it comes to draining grease I dump it off, then just pour the sauce on top. My mother would be appalled if I shared that version with you, though, which is why you get the real deal! However, I’m all about simplifying any and everything that I can. Otherwise if you’re trying to be conscious about sustainability, like we are, you can invest in some reusable toothpicks- actually they are stainless cocktail skewers. This will help cut down on waste and expense (after the initial investment of course).

We actually used homemade ketchup on these and it was phenomenal. It added a smokey flavor that was delicious. I honestly think you could probably use bbq sauce in place of the ketchup too, but I have not tried it…yet. The ease of these and the fact that we love them so much tells me that I should be making them more often.

The other thing I’ll mention here is that I accidentally bought the sliced chestnuts and they will still work. They work especially well if you are using the toothpicks because you just stack a couple of them up and then wrap them. Even if you aren’t using toothpicks, it still works. I promise. We make them like this and they turn out just fine. I can get organic chestnut slices from Azure so I’ll most likely just keep buying the slices. I’ve also found that it takes 2 cans of chestnuts to make one batch. 

Last thing about these bacon chestnut rolls, I promise. One slice of bacon makes about 3 rolls. Therefore, I usually cut each slice of bacon into thirds before starting to roll them. It will make about 20 rolls, depending on the thickness of your bacon. My mom definitely doubles the recipe to make more than that for a crowd.

In Summary: Bacon Chestnut Rolls

Typically we keep these bacon chestnut rolls for special occasions and parties. They would be perfect as a superbowl food and, as I mentioned, we like to eat them around the holidays. However, we are also trying to make everyday life a little more special. Party foods, like our sausage stuffed jalapenos, aren’t necessarily bad for us. We put goot ingredients into them so it’s worth making them a little more often. I always try to reason about this situation. We could be going out to eat and eating foods that are fried and full of terrible ingredients, but we aren’t. We’re still making food from home and using high quality ingredients. In my world, that makes them a tad bit better than eating out and therefore worth making a little more often. 

Bacon Chestnut Rolls

A unique party food!

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Course Appetizer

Cuisine American

Ingredients

  

• 1 can whole chestnuts cut in half
• 1 lb bacon

Sauce

• 1 cup ketchup
• 2/3 cup brown sugar
• 2 tsp soy sauce or liquid aminos

Instructions

 

• Wrap each half of chestnut with a slice of bacon.
• Secure with a toothpick.
• Place on a foil-lined baking sheet that has sides to prevent grease from running off.
• Bake for 30 minutes at 350.
• Pour off the grease and return to the baking sheet.
• At this point in the recipe you could freeze these in advance to use them later, making them an even better recipe because we LOVE getting things done ahead of time.
• Mix sauce ingredients together.
• Dip each bacon/but in sauce and return to the baking sheet.
• Bake again for 20 minutes at 350 or 7 minutes in the microwave.

Keyword bacon, chestnut