Making Bacon Spirals

Roll the bacon into its spiral and set it on end in a muffin tin to bake. You can use the toothpicks as "spacers" to keep the edges apart, and then easily pull them out the side once everything is baked. (Depending on how tight and broad you want the spiral to be, you may need to use a mini-muffin pan instead.)

You may also want to add a light coating of brown sugar before shaping the spiral to help the bacon hold its shape. It should caramelize while cooking and help achieve a crispy and stiff shape. Plus, it's yummy!

Based on some experience with other things, instead of using toothpicks, I'd use thin, round metal skewers. Yes, they might conduct heat to the puncture location and cause some slight uneven-ness in cooking, but they have a couple of advantages:

1. Food doesn't stick to metal as badly as it does to wood.
2. The handle at the end allows you to try to spin it before you pull it out.

I actually recommend spinning the skewer as you pull it out. Being a sheet, the bacon is stronger against rotational forces than it is against axial forces. By spinning the skewer first, then pulling, you're only dealing with dynamic friction as you pull, not static friction.

I admit, I've never tried this exact situation before, but the spinning trick really helps at conferences when you're pinning up posters, as it keeps you from needing to hold the display board as you're inserting push pins. (although, T-pins at an angle work even better, hold better, and pack up much smaller)

I would also stick to 'thick cut' bacon and remove the skewers when the bacon is firm but still slightly flexible.

.... and if that didn't work, I'd try to make a spiral form using some of the aluminum flashing that I have laying around from another project. (although I have no idea if it's coated with anything that might not be food-safe... I guess I could wrap it in aluminum foil, too ... maybe even get some of the 'release' foil.

Caveat: This answer is based on general cooking experience, not an actual experiment.

I share your doubt about the toothpicks, especially as the force applied to the bacon when pulling them out again is concentrated on a small spot. If your bacon is crisp, it’s prone to shattering, if soft, probably won’t hold its shape.

I would skip the toothpick and use a slim stir of parchment around the perimeter of your bacon spiral, held in place with a piece of kitchen twine tied around it. The parchment both serves like a “cast” holding the spiral together and prevents the twine from being embedded into the bacon. If the parchment isn’t too wide, it shouldn’t interfere too much with the steam during baking. Just to be sure, I ‘d take the temperature down a notch and bake longer.

Of course this is more work than just pushing a toothpick through, but assuming you are making the decoration for a smaller gathering, not a 250 servings catering event, should still be manageable. Alternatively, go for the toothpick, but make lots of extras so that you have enough even if a significant portion suffers some damage.