Unwrap the butter into a medium bowl and let it soften at room temperature. Don’t microwave or heat the butter at all, so you’ll need a bit of patience. A full hour should bring all of the butter to a soft texture. [Pro Tip: To speed up the softening process, cut the butter into ¼ inch slices to increase surface area. It should be soft enough to stir easily in about 20 minutes.] Set aside.

In a frying pan, cook the bacon until very crispy but not burned. Use the tongs to remove cooked bacon to a paper towel to drain the extra fat. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, crumble the bacon and discard any obvious hard or gristly pieces. 

Using a large spoon, stir the butter to bring it to a smooth, batter-like consistency. Add the cooked bacon crumbles, maple, brown sugar, and sea salt. 

Combine well, until sugar and bacon appear evenly distributed. Set the bowl aside. 

Cut two 8-inch lengths of wax paper. Set one length aside. You may need to weigh it down so it doesn’t curl up while you work. 

Spoon out the butter mixture into the center of the wax paper. Using two spoons or a spatula and spoon (see photo) loosely nudge the soft butter mixture into a 5-inch long rectangle.

Using both hands, slowly roll up the paper with the butter like you might with a burrito. As you roll, “plump” the log as you go, so the butter fills out the wax paper. It’s ok if it’s not perfectly cylindrical; it might actually seem a bit rectangular—that’s part of the charm of homemade gifts. 

Do the same with the other butter “log” and set them both in the refrigerator to harden. After about 30 minutes, remove for step 9.

If wrapping these for gifts:  Cut four six-inch ribbon curls and tie off each end (see photo).  If there is a lot of wax paper on each end, trim off with kitchen shears or scissors. Add a gift tag to the center or dangled from another section of ribbon tied to one end. 

If these aren’t meant to be gifts, you can remove the logs from the wax paper and store them in a butter dish or covered container, or keep in the wax paper and unroll as needed for serving. 

 Keep the compound butter chilled until ready to use; remove to room temp to soften about 20 minutes before ready to use in a recipe or as a spread. 

 You can freeze them up to six months sealed tightly, preferably double-wrapped in baggies to protect them from freezer burn. I would not freeze these more than once after bringing them to temp.