Bacon Wrapped Asparagus

October 2025. Fall in Memphis, and I am 66, walking the neighborhood in my light jacket, watching the leaves turn on the oaks and maples that line Deadrick Avenue. The smoker is happy in fall — the cooler air holds the smoke lower, keeps it closer to the meat, and the results are always a shade better in October than in July, as if the season itself is a seasoning.

Rosetta beside me through the week, steady as ever, the woman who runs this household with the precision of a hospital ward and the heart of a mother who has loved fiercely for 41 years of marriage.

I made cornbread in the cast iron skillet — buttermilk, cornmeal, bacon drippings, the recipe that goes back to Mama and before Mama to her mama and before that to wherever the tradition began. Baked at 425 until golden and crusty, the edges dark and lacy, the center soft and crumbling. Some weeks cornbread is enough. Some weeks the simplest food is the most profound.

The week ended on the porch with Rosetta, the evening settling over Orange Mound, the smoker cooling in the backyard. The fire was banked but not out — it's never out, just resting between cooks, holding the heat the way I hold the tradition: carefully, permanently, with the understanding that what Uncle Clyde gave me is not mine to keep but mine to pass, and the passing is the purpose.

That week had me thinking about food that doesn’t try too hard — cornbread with three ingredients and a hundred years behind it, smoke that works quietly in the cool October air. When I wanted something to bring to the porch that matched that same philosophy, bacon wrapped asparagus was the answer: two things that understand each other, no fuss, no pretense, just the kind of honest cooking Uncle Clyde would’ve recognized without a word of explanation.

Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 20 minutes | Total Time: 30 minutes | Servings: 4

Ingredients

1 lb fresh asparagus spears, tough ends trimmed
8 strips thin-cut bacon
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Instructions

Preheat oven. Heat oven to 400°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil and set a wire rack on top if you have one — it helps the bacon crisp on all sides.
Season the asparagus. Drizzle asparagus with olive oil and toss to coat. Sprinkle with garlic powder, salt, and black pepper.
Bundle and wrap. Divide the asparagus into 8 bundles of 3 to 4 spears each. Wrap one strip of bacon tightly around each bundle in a spiral, starting at the bottom and working toward the tip. Tuck the end of the bacon underneath to secure.
Arrange and roast. Place bundles seam-side down on the prepared rack or baking sheet, leaving space between each. Roast for 18 to 22 minutes, until the bacon is crisp and the asparagus tips are just beginning to brown.
Rest and serve. Let rest 2 to 3 minutes before serving. Best eaten warm, straight from the pan.

Nutrition (per serving)

Bacon Wrapped Asparagus — The Simplest Food, the Most Profound