Bacon Explosion

The Bacon explosion came to be in 2008 on a BBQ blog.  It quickly gained worldwide notoriety receiving more than 500,000 hits and 16,000 links to the blog.  It is at its core Primal and its grandest, a finely tuned carnivorous Masterpiece.  My friend Scott Cowley @scottcowley first got me interested in it with his passion for Bacon.  I wanted to do it but was kind of nervous…. Who would eat it?  Who would enjoy what I was doing and smoking this manly piece of Heaven?  Well, I found 2 buddies and we did it for New Years’ Eve 2010.

I started by buying thick-cut Bacon and Italian sausage. I read up on what needed to be done and how to prepare it.  It quickly amazed me how well the lattice looked on the web and then  I realized that this was the hardest thing for me to master.  I had to constantly adjust the spacing and still could not get it right! After the lattice of bacon; I sliced bacon into small pieces and cooked them.  Getting the sausage spread over the lattice I had created, was the easy part.  After the bacon was done I was ready.  I put some Rub on the sausage and some incredible sauce and got it rolled.  I found it was easier to just roll the whole thing together.

I then went to the smoker and put it on after the friends had come over, I smoked it for about 3 ½ hours (it took that long because it was 5 degrees outside) I put my meat thermometer into it and set it to 160 degrees.  At 150 I put this on it (Brian’s BBQ Sauce) and let it glaze for the last 10 degrees.

I took it out and we laughed and smirked at what we were about to partake in.  I cut into it and was amazed at the incredible aroma that sneaked up on me!  I took about a ¾ inch slice and dove in….. Guys (and gals) this was amazing.  It blew me away that there was such depth in flavor.  I used an Italian sausage with a little bit of a kick.  And the bacon I cooked for the inside I did until really brown so I could have the charred flavor…  It was absolutely outta this world… More than I had anticipated.  Everyone loved it (except for my wife, who doesn’t do spicy) It was a great way to taste the different layers and the rolled aspect of it only magnified the profiles.

My grade for myself this project was B- (I just couldn’t get the lattice right)

My grade for the Bacon Explosion…. SCRUMDIDDLYUMPTOUS!!!!!

by TheBBQDude

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds of thick-cut bacon
• 2 pounds Italian sausage
• 1 bottle of your favorite BBQ Sauce
• 1 shaker of  your favorite BBQ Rub

Directions:

1. We start by baking a bacon weave that will be 6×6 strips of bacon. You will see some versions that ask for a 5×5, however, we find the 6×6 a better size. Use the bacon to form a tight over-under weave pattern that will hold all of your ingredients in place.
2. Sprinkle with enough BBQ seasoning before flipping the weave over to the other side.
3. Next layer the sausage evenly over the bacon to the edges and press it down to ensure that it forms a large patty. We used bulk sausage vs. the link variety. If you are using the link, just remove the casings and then mix the meabeforeto spreading.
4. Cut the remainder of the bacon up into a chuck no smaller than 1/2 inch and start to fry. The best results are not too crispy and they should have some softness to them.
5. Place the fried bacon pieces over the sausage meat and then place some of the BBQ Sauce and a light dash of the BBQ seasoning. About 1/2 cup of sauce and a tablespoon or two of the seasoning should do the trick.
6. Separate the sausage patty from the bacon weave at the end of the bacon weave and start rolling it up backward. This will form like a jelly roll. Ensure to keep the seam side down on the bacon weave and then try to pinch the ends closed if you can. Try to squeeze out any air pockets if you can. Some BBQ sauce will ooze out, don’t worry, that’s normal.
7. Now you are going to transport your bacon weave up a little under the sausage roll you made and begin to roll it, and the sausage forward, as tight as you can, so you get 100% coverage by the bacon weave. Now sprinkle some of the BBQ seasonings over the surface of the bacon log.
8. Again, you may see some BBQ sauce oozing out, or your ends may not be perfect. Don’t worry so much about that. Once it’s in your smoker, it will firm up properly and it will seal itself and everything inside.
9. Set your smoker to 225F – 250F. When it has reached the desired temperature, place the Bacon Explosion on the grates over your drip pan. If you are going to use a remote thermostat, no would be the time to add it. Close the lid.
10. The Bacon Explosion of this size should take 2 1/2 to 3 hours to cook at 225-250F, however, use a thermostat to ensure it reaches the proper internal temperature of 165F.
11. In the last 20-30 min of the cook, slather the Bacon Explosion with your favorite BBQ sauce to the outside. If you add this too early, you are likely going to see some burning, and you don’t want that.
12. Once you remove it from the smoker, you can slice this magnificent beast any way you desire. Our preferred way is in a pinwheel version as shown in the picture. 
13. This Bacon Explosion should feed a crew of 6-8 men with the appropriate sides.
14. This refrigerates well and you can wrap this in plastic film and allow it to refrigerate until later.