The other day the guys from BaconToday.com contacted me in search for some barbecue bacon recipes. Of course I have plenty of great uses for bacon in a barbecue pit, but the longer I thought about it, the more I wanted to step it up a notch and clog a few arteries for those guys. Behold, BACON EXPLOSION!!! Here’s what you’ll need…
Bacon Explosion Ingredients
- 2 pounds thick cut bacon
- 2 pounds Italian sausage
- 1 bottle of Burnt Finger BBQ sauce
- 1 shaker of Burnt Finger BBQ rub
To kick off the construction of this pork medley you’ll need to create a 5×5 bacon weave. If the strips you’re using aren’t as wide as the ones pictured, then you may need to use a few extra slices to fill out the pattern. Just make sure your bacon weave is tight and that you end up with a nice square shape to work with.
The next step is to add some seasoning on top of your bacon weave. I used our Burnt Finger BBQ Smokey Kansas City seasoning (the label artwork has changed since this photo was taken), but many rubs will work. Here are some of my favorites that are available on Amazon.
The key here is to use a seasoning that is more sweet than salty. The bacon is already bringing a good amount of salt to party, so you want to avoid getting your Bacon Explosion over salted.
Now that you’re pork is well seasoned, it’s time to add more pork. Take two pounds of Italian sausage and layer it directly on top of your bacon weave. Be sure to press the sausage to the outer edges of the bacon creating a patty that is the same thickness all the way across. Most grocery stores carry loose sausage, so just pick out one you like. I chose to go with a mild sausage, but spicy would work just the same. If you really want to get crazy, take a stab at making your own homemade sausage.
Next up is bacon layer number two. Take the remaining bacon slices and fry them up the same way you would for breakfast (or lunch, or dinner, or a midnight snack). If you like soft bacon, make it soft. If you like crunchy bacon, make it crunchy. If you like your bacon burnt to hell so the smoke detectors go off, then burn it to hell so the smoke detectors go off. These pieces are going to be a major part of the inner flavor of our sausage fatty, so cook them your favorite way. Personally, I like my bacon right at the point when it starts to get crispy, but hasn’t quite lost all of the softness yet. Regardless of how well done you like yours, you’ll need to crumble or chop the cooked strips into bite size pieces and place on top of the sausage layer. (Note-It’s okay, and encouraged, to snack on these pieces while your chopping/crumbling. But keep in mind that once those bacon morsels touch the raw sausage, you’ll need to resist all temptations to nibble. This can and will be difficult, but hospital trips are no fun, so stay strong.)
Since this is a BBQ recipe, we need to add another layer of BBQ flavor. Take your favorite sauce and drizzle it all over the top of the bacon pieces. I use our Burnt Finger BBQ Smokey Kansas City sauce, but any BBQ sauce that you like will work. Here are some of my favorites that are available on Amazon.
Once you’ve sauced the bacon, sprinkle on some more of the Smokey Kansas City Barbecue Seasoning you used on the bacon weave.
Now comes the fun part. Very carefully separate the front edge of the sausage layer from the bacon weave and begin rolling backwards. You want to include all layers EXCEPT the bacon weave in your roll. Try and keep the sausage as tight as possible and be sure to release any air pockets that may have formed. Once the sausage is fully rolled up, pinch together the seams and ends to seal all of the bacon goodness inside.
At this point we can start to see the final shape of our Bacon Explosion, but we’re missing one key item. To complete the construction process, roll the sausage forward completely wrapping it in the bacon weave. Make sure it sits with the seam facing downward to help keep it all sealed up.
Sprinkle some more Smokey Kansas City Barbecue Seasoning on the outside of the bacon weave, and now this bad boy is ready for the smoker. Cook your Bacon Explosion at 225 degrees in a constant cloud of hickory smoke until the meat reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees. Normally this will take about 1 hour for each inch of thickness, but that could vary depending on how well you maintain your fire and also how many times you open the smoker to take a peek. Mine took about 2.5 hours, which was right on target with its 2.5 inch diameter.
Now that our Bacon Explosion is fully cooked, we need to add some finishing flavors. Remember that Burnt Finger BBQ sauce we used for inner flavor? We’ll be using that same sauce to glaze the cooked bacon weave. Using a basting brush, coat the entire surface with a thin layer of sauce.
Slice the Bacon Explosion into quarter to half inch rounds to serve. If your roll was good and tight, you should now see a nice bacon pinwheel pattern throughout the sausage. Obviously pork is best served by itself, but if you feel the need to make this meat monster into a sandwich, try placing a couple Bacon Explosion slices on a warm Pillsbury’s Grands Biscuit. You’ll reach pork Nirvana in no time flat!
As soon as we get our house finished, I will make this bad boy for our house warming…..Yummmmmmmmmm
I don’t know why… but my muslim friends didn’t appreciate this wonderful delicacy ?_!
Love the recipe, have one on the smoker now. I’m drooling waiting for it to get done. I read the majority of the messages, and I’m dying to try some of the breakfast recipes.
I ended up switching the Italian sausage out for ground pork. I also use onions, garlic, sharp cheddar, and KC masterpiece bbq sauce in the roll. I’ll add jalapenos next time!
Here are a few pics from my first attempt: http://www.outlawdragradial.com/BE/album/
The small roll had a pound of mild Italian sausage, and the bigger roll had a pound of mild and a pound of hot Italian sausage… These are great on a Kaiser roll.
Is this Kosher approved?
OMG….i just got done rolling my first BACON EXPLOSION !!!! I of course did not use the same meats… I added ‘ PEPPERONNI ; HAM ; MONTERY JACK CHEESE ; AND CHEEDAR .. 5 lbs bacon 4 lbs of itailian sausage .. had to roll it length ways cuz it would of been way to big. About 5 inches tall. I had to make an addition of woven bacon to the original to make it perfect.Im using a TREAGOR grill. Love my treagor. Im expecting it to take 5 or 6 hours at 225. Im going to sit here and drink until its done , then give my liver a break and work on my heart to explode. gonna be a good weekend. i will post pics later.
Forget GITMO and water boarding … feed them this!!!
OMG!!!….I am so gonna make this. BACON should a it’s own food group….it’s so DELICIOUS!!!
OMG that looks sooooooo yummy!!!!!
i cant wait to try it this weekend!
Deer camp ’09. I made two of these for my hunting buddies on a torpedo smoker. One of them was the classic Eyetalian snausage recipie. The second was with ground beef filled with habaneros and thai peppers, crushed red pepper and cayanne. They were both brilliant and fit the different tastes of my boys. I used hardwood charcoal, and one packet of hickory. I used a healthy helping of cheeses in each, but I think smoking kills it. Any advice on that? I’d be happy to swap recipies.
@Wagtube – What do you mean by “smoking kills it”? Are you referring to overwhelming the flavor with smoke, or just having all of your cheese melt out during the cooking process?
I made one of these for our Thanksgiving and it was a hit! I’ve got requests for Christmas now. I definitely learned a few things about rolling the sausage and baking it in the oven, hopefully the next time I’ll make it better. Awesome, awesome treat! I’ll send the photos!
I found this website via Stumble! a couple of months ago. I have been waiting with anticipation to actually make this thing and finally over Thanksgiving I made one with my buddies. It was AMAZING! We already decided that we’re going to have a cookoff over Christmas to see who can construct the tastiest Bacon Explosion! Thanks for this wonderful gift you’ve given to the world!!
@Pat – I’ll give you a hint. Jalapenos and provel cheese!!! 🙂
dude i made this thing literally 5+ years ago.. i am way ahead of the curve when it comes to bacon.. it was the same thing, down to the uncased sausage and the precooked bacon in the middle, except i added a pork loin (soaked in jack daniels, brown sugar, soy sauce, and garlic for 2 days) however it was not a big hunk of pork loin through the center… I spiral cut the pork loin so that it unrolled like a roll of paper towels to lay flat in a big square and used that as my base to build upon. rolled it all up, wrapped it in bacon and tressed it.. and then screw the bbq sauce, I took the drippings from the pan (essentially bacon and pork grease) and made gravy. Cut off big disc slices and put it on scali bread with a gravy drizzle.. why? because I’m a visionary. I have the pics with the time stamps to prove it. I brought it to a Patriots game and 10 guys who had been fired up and energetic up to that point got knocked on their ass by the ensuing food coma. The bacon and garlic burps in the stands were smelled by the people around us all game long. GLORIOUS DAY…
This recipe worked very well. No fear about the fat and cholesterol. Obesity and heart issues weren’t a problem until processed foods (grain, dairy) came along. I eat a Paleo diet (caveman foods…meat, fish, veggies, fruit), I eat all the time, and I’m amazed at how lean I can remain.
This bacon explosion is well within my diet, and it’s one of my son’s favorites!
A buddy of mine made this, but excluded the crumbled bacon and added scallops, chives, and a sharp white cheese. Smoked for about 3 hours.
It came out pretty well. It was VERY salty however, even for me, and I enjoy the salt. I do remember the sausage being the main flavor profile.
So maybe it should be called the Sausage Explosion (non-porn edition). 🙂
Was it me or did I see a PETA post that said…”you have won… we will pack up and go home.” I believe I did and I believe victory can be declared – Thank you Bacon Explosion, your are the bomb!
It needs cheese!
I tried this recipe over the summer. It was amazing. I’d forgotten about it until now, and if my fridge hadn’t died last week I’d be running out to get the ingredients to make another right now. I will be having another one of these in the next week.
Just finished my second try at this a week or so ago. Just as good (maybe a little bit better) the second time. Lessons learned: 1) I took sweet onion, sliced and carmalized it then let cool. Added to inner crumble. 2) From Jan 2, 2009 comment, did all layers but first on parchment. So much easier to roll very tight and then placed onto the first bacon layer.
Awesome. I would never have made the initial without your great pictorial layout. Would you mind if I added (with many proper links back) at my pages? http://www.grouprecipes.com/people/77mini
I will be making about 5 of these this weekend. I will smoke them, then freeze them and give them as Christmas gifts. Can you think of a better gift, than the gift of meat?
I want this for Christmas dinner. The only way to improve it would be to add cheese, lots of it!
I made one of these with grated mozzarella rolled inside. I brought it to an office party and it was gone in minutes, finished before any other appetizer. Excellent!
I had my first B.E. this past weekend at a party. Delicious! I had it plain and made a sandwich with some. The sandwich rocked. The first thing I thought it needed was something else in the middle like cheese. Guess I’m not alone. I will be trying this myself.
I’m making one for a company party tomorrow. Massive coronary’s for all!
I’ve made a half dozen of these beauties. The most recent was with ground beef, carmelized onions, habeneros, and thai peppers. I also used an entire bag of cheese in the middle. Everytime I’ve used cheese, it seems to just dissappear in the smoking process. Has anyone had any luck with cheese additions? Now that I have my new Traeger, I will be making some for Christmas. Merry Christmas bacon lovers!
Anybody up for a piggyback ride?
YHou guys are all idiots, seriously. GO FLAMES GO@!!!
WAGTUBE, try using provalone cheese, seems to have a higher melting point.
I now live in Kuwait, so I had to substitute beef bacon for pork and make some chorizo from lamb mince.. it turned out really goood, but PIG BACON RULES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I guess you are not expecting too many jewish friends at your BBQ. lol
Another use for that pork would be to make your own sausages. Check this out: http://www.sausages-sausages.com
Has anyone tried the recipe using turkey bacon and turkey sausage yet? …Just wondering.
Already done one.
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Hi!
I just tried my first Bacon Explosion at Jamie Jones surprise party last night in Salt Lake. it was fantastic. thanks to Brad the chef. i enjoy reading these posts. i like the ideas of adding more garlic and onions. Merry Christmas! Happy Twenty Ten!
OK – we added some BW3 spicy garlic sauce in the middle and gave it a real nice kick.
Hail to the Bacon explosion ( aka the pork-n-ator )
Happy Birthday Bacon Explosion!
I put a layer af onions and quartered a brick of velveeta and rolled up the goodness around it. Absolute heaven!!!!
PiggyRibs.com December 24, 2009
Hi Everyone,
I want to wish you a very Merry Christmas and a happy and prosperous New Year.
Your Christmas gift is before and after pics of my first bacon explosion.
It’s the bacon bomb!
Before
After
Awesome recipe – definitely a crowd-pleaser! There are not too many main dishes that illicit the response you get when you bring one of these fatties to the table. I did a variation of the recipe using hamburger instead of sausage, and added a little blue cheese to one of the fatties, Both were awesome! Even my health-conscious wife was like, “Damn!”
Whoever thought of it should be declared a worldwide hero and celebrate and honour his invention every year. AWESOME!
I have so far made 5 of these. each one is better than the last. I’m not sure how many a person can actually consume in a year, but I’m thinking at the most 12. I figure it’ll take at least a month to process all that bacony goodness….
Making my second tomorrow…can’t wait!
why isn’t deep fried?
Wow!!! Just had it and had to say thanks. Wow that was good. I am thinking that I should have taken the leftovers for breakfast.
Just when I thought people couldnt get more pathetic. Get back on your diet people, stop killing yourself.
Just when I thought people couldnt get more pathetic. Get back on your diet people, stop killing yourself.
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Once in a while it’s okay to have but there’s no need to say how more pathefic this can be.
I made this and it was delicious. The Wendy’s Baconnaitor has nothing on that. Yummmmmm!!!
“Just when I thought people couldnt get more pathetic. Get back on your diet people, stop killing yourself.”
Get over yourself, frickin’ muppet.
Shall I take a guess that you’re another one of those veggie sheeple that believes killing animals for food is wrong?
Or perhaps you’re just another grossly obese Yank who gets all pissy when he/she/it sees food that you can’t EAT!!