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!
My grandad lived to be 98 and ate bacon his whole life, every day! grandma fried everything in good ole hog lard, and he would have LOVED this. I’ll make it in honor of him. thank you.
Finally, I’ve had this recipe since Dec/08. For my 50th B-day I finally did it up. OUT
*Tearing up* It’s the best of both worlds!
made the explosion for super bowl sunday and it was a big hit! now i get request’s to make it every party i throw!
@baconite – Once people have a taste of the explosion, they always come back for more!!! Glad to hear it’s made you the neighborhood hero!!! 🙂
Wow I must say this really is a Bacon Explosion of the highest kind! The finished product looks small enough to eat. Pure heart attack food but SO I don’t care, that’s what I’m having for my breakfast one day! Hahahaha
Truly inspirational, and my family thoroughly enjoyed it, next time I will add some more onion and cheese to the filling and add a slightly hotter sauce.
I JUST TOOK ONE LOOK AND MY HEART SAID, “YOU GONNA DIE, FOOL”!! I told my heart “yeah, but what a way to go”. I am drooling on my key board, how embarrassing. I gotta try this just once, and needless to say, I may not share it. 😉
Maybe it is just my pregnancy hormones, but that made me sick on my stomach looking at it…
my goodness, I haven’t even read what this page is saying and my mouth is already watery from the pictures! man, it looks good!
WOW, I’ve been thinking about this recipe for several months now. Today I have the time and I’m going for it!
I saw a couple of other posts that had cheese in the center of it and a bit of veggies, I may try that.
anyhow, it’s cooking today and I’ll post with some pictures in about 5 hours! CYA
So full of win and pork I’m just not sure what to do with myself….
Cooked this up a few weeks back in a smoker for about 4 hours on a visit to Texas. A little disappointed with the BBQ sauce addition at the end – would have been fun to have it a little crispy on the outside. Almost embarrassed to say that it was really, really, really good! A heart attack in every bite.
I have to make this in advance, is there a best way to re-heat it?
@Rachel – I always prefer to reheat on a grill, but you could always pop in the oven until it reaches an internal temperature of 150 degrees. Just be sure to set it on a raised rack resting on a cookie sheet. That way the Bacon Explosion isn’t sitting in the extra grease that cooks out.
This looks awesome 😀
You forgot to sprinkle the bacon bits… amateurs.
@jack – I guess you missed the part that said sprinkle the crumbled bacon….
Oh my gosh the drool is building up in my mouth i wish i could one day have this *drools*
I did up a Bacon Explosion for Father’s Day weekend and it was a smash hit. Following the advice on the message board, I added cheese to the middle. I used a chipotle BBQ sauce, Steve Raichlen’s all-purpose BBQ rub and mild Italian sausage. Next time I will probably switch to Camp 31 BBQ sauce and hot Italian sausage for some extra zing.
Awesome recipe! Keep up the franken-BBQing!
We made one of these last weekend! It turned out great! I still feel my cholesterol rising!
Oh…Yeah! Todd London’s gonna love this sucker on Friday June 26th!! I’ve got my defibulator on the deck and ready. It’s a byop…bring your own paddles event!
Here’s what you do. Layer pepper jack cheese down over the weave, then stuff the sausauge with jalapenos and slather some southern style hot sauce on that. For the fried bacon in the middle, combine the bacon, some BBQ sauce, seasoning, and half the bacon fat from the pan. Then roll it up as follows and drizzle the other half of the bacon fat atop the ready-to-smoke meat brick and let ‘er ride. This came out excellent.
Paging John Madden, paging John Madden. I believe we’ve found the missing ingredient for Turducken. Stuff this thing in the chicken and it’s a whole new game.
This is a fav recipe of politicians; it’s loaded with pork.
The link was sent to me, by a fellow bbq addict. I immediatly went to the local pork shop, Dubai has limited pig parts availble, and paid through my spinchter for the right to buy cook and eat pork in a muslim country. For what you could build and cook in the USA for about 15 to 20 dollars, I spent almost 200. But you know what? It was worth it. I of course had to buy italian sausages and de-case them, but soaking them in Gentlemen Jack for a day helped, and the healthy dose of cajun spices. The bacon roll was devoured, one hundred percent, and all the drippings were sopped up with anything edible and on hand..
IT DONT’T GET NO BETTER…
i’m using venison sausage and i’m going to add cheddar cheese to the sausage. i hope it’s going to be as magical as my dream