I really believe that the best gifts are homemade.

Not only are homemade gifts more thoughtful, but they’re usually pretty inexpensive, too. It’s the best of both worlds.

If this one looks too advanced or gourmet for you, let me tell you: It’s not. Making your own (non-vegetarian) (non-kosher) flavored bacon salt gifts is actually pretty simple.

This easy little favor starts with a recipe. And this easy little recipe starts with 9 pieces of bacon. Get them all cooked up to a perfect crisp in your oven or on your griddle…

…and eat 5 of them.

(Am I the only one who cooks more bacon than I need every time?)

Let the last four cook until they’re nearly burnt. Not burnt burnt, but just a little more cooked than you’d like them to be.

Then you take those 4 overcooked pieces of bacon, along with some sea salt and some pepper…

…mash the bacon into oblivion…

…then mix it all together. You can stir, you can shake. Whatever strikes your fancy.

And that’s it!

You’re now the proud owner of a jar full of delicious bacon-flavored seasoning.

The “gift” part of this comes from pouring your homemade bacon salt into a cute little canning jar (this recipe is the perfect amount to fill a 4 ounce canning jar) and attaching a gift tag with a bit of baker’s twine.

Oh, what’s that? You don’t already have a strangely specific “Homemade Bacon Salt” gift tag at home?

Well it must be your lucky day because I’ve got a printable page full of them for you!

Yep, just click on the link below and print out the page. You could glue the tags onto colored cardstock, grommet ‘em and tie them on with twine like I did, or print out these tags onto sticker paper and slap them on the lid of your jar as a label.

>> Bacon Salt Gift Tags

Ready to get shakin’? The full recipe and exact measurements for the bacon salt is below:

Homemade Bacon Salt

4 slices of bacon
1/4 cup coarse sea salt
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper

Cook bacon strips in the oven or on a griddle until they’re just overcooked.

In a food processor or plastic bag, blend or crush bacon strips until there are only small chunks and a paste begins to form.

In a bowl or jar, stir or shake together the bacon with the sea salt and pepper until well-mixed. Transfer to an air-tight container and store in the refrigerator when not in use.

What do you eat it on? Well, almost anything! It’s great on baked potatoes or macaroni and cheese, adding the bacon salt to taste whereever you’d add regular salt.

Yum, right?

If you need to double this recipe to make a batch for yourself, I totally understand.