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!
Thank you, God, for bacon.
Second year in a row I’ve made one of these for the Superbowl. I’m still having the same problem with mine being too dry. Is anyone else having a problem with dryness down through the middle? I used more barbecue sauce thinking that would help, but not much luck. Thought about using a fattier sausage but the sausages available in my stores are pretty much all the same as far as fat content. Any suggestions out there for a moister product?
@Bob Smith – My suggestion is to cook your Bacon Explosion at a higher temperature, but don’t take the internal temperature of the meat quite as high. This will allow the outside bacon to crisp up, while still trapping all of the sausage juices inside. Try cooking at 300 degrees until the internal temp reaches 150 degrees. If that doesn’t work, then your next option is to inject the Bacon Explosion full of melted butter once it’s done cooking. That should add plenty of moisture back into the meat!!!! Enjoy!
So the only real changes that work for me are these: 1) pepper bacon in a bigger weave 6×7 or 7×8, 2) maple flavored Jimmy Dean breakfast sausage with a LITTLE sweet onion added, plus spreading the sausage mix out on a sprayed cookie sheet to roll, instead of on top of the weave. 3)baste last 30 min. with maple syrup cut 50% w/water. Dry inside…I don’t see how! Smoke mine 2 1/2 hr over mesquite at far end of a big ass smoker so it doesn’t “char”. Masterpiece every time.
My friends whipped up this recipe last Sunday – OMG, it was Gooodd!!!
Great Stuff. I stopped adding mince when no more would fit.
Is not hard to work out. With the cheese thing>well I might try it but had to do as is 1st. Would you use low fat cheese? Bloody unlikely. .from Aust.
Excellent I can’t wait to make my second. I have already decided to make two next time to experiment a little. Great idea. Made me shit like a donkey. I baked in oven at 350 for about 2 hours or until all bacon was crisp. Spicy sausage is next.
Is there any way to bake this in the oven instead of a smoker/cooker??
@Lynn,
From Jan 14th Aaron posted this link:
http://blog.bbqaddicts.com/recipes/bacon-explosion-oven-recipe/
and my response followed:
“A year ago I tried the oven when the winter weather here in Buffalo basically ruled out my smoker. I cooked similar to link above but only at 225 until it got to 160. Then pulled it out and cranked the oven to 450. While out I basted with home made BBQ sauce and then put back in until 170. Actually not that bad.”
I didn’t read all the comments, so I might be late in saying this. Bacon is meat candy!!
my god my heart just exploded when i eat it it will erode the exploded heart chunks and clog whate ever was left open of my arteries
Absolutely heaven, and worth the airfare over from the UK. Would love to do this, but our bacon is so different, anyone in the UK have any ideas where we can get the right bacon for this?
OMG…the perfect diet food! Wish I had the energy to prepare this Bacon Explosion…
Words cannot describe what I’m beholding on this page. I only have one complaint. There’s not a printer-friendly version of this page that I can see (but then, I’m probably blinded by the awesomeness of the Bacon Explosion’s picture. No computer in the kitchen means running back and forth from there to here to make sure I’m not screwing something up without a printout.
I can only imagine the caloric intake of this…which is why I am going to pass on it at the St. Patrick’s day Kegs & Eggs I am going to…but good God it does look delicious. =/
PERFECT for Atkins!
yum.
I am an hour into smoking the bacon explosion and amarillo has been hit by a blizzard do you think that will effect my cooking time much??? hahahaha well thank you for the recipe but i supplemented the bbq sauce with A1 and i think i hit it on the head with 4 bottle cap fulls of budlight marinating for 24 hours…. none the less may the grilling go on!
as if u would it that one bite would kill u
I know this is a BBQ website…..but has anyone tried to deep-fry this? Im thinking about trying it in my turkey frier.
This looks 2 good 2 eat I done somthing like this called smoking a “Fatty” same concept basketweave around a stuffed sausage roll like putting little smokies and cheddar cheese inside, green onions, pepperjack cheese ,green pepper, chopped bacon, shake on some rub put brown sugar on top of bacon and smoke for 3-4 hours @ 235DEG with hickory wood
We made this at our annual bbq using home-made venison Italian sausage. It was incredible, and not greasy, like I expected. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
realy realy realy important question…..
can you deep fat fry it??
sounds like a heart attack just waiting to happen
I ordered TWO of the things online and heated one up this morning. Complete and total TBO (taste bud orgasm). Can’t wait to try making one from scratch.
Looks dangerously delicious. I hope there will be more heart surgeons available in the future.
Crestor… check
5000 napkins… check
hunting/camping clothes… check
massively massive knife… check
eat nothing 2 weeks prior to exploding with bacon… maybe
heart attack after half a bit… check
Oh my God! I just finished my first Bacon Explosion. Took a lot longer to cook that I expected, although mine was pretty big and thick…About 7 hours on the smoker. But 100% worth the time.
I have to say PURE PORK HEAVEN!
Om nom nom..
I am literally drooling in my cubicle.