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!
I have a new twist, some toasted provolone in the center… Oh My Gawd!!
Since you cant smoke cheeses outside of a smoke house, try making a little aluminium boat and put a small wheel of provolone in it. Be careful to not burn it on the grill, just get a good brown scab cover. Then finish off your explosion with some toasty prov in the middle..
Right now, I have three trimmed brisket flats and four racks of baby backs in the smoker. When those are done in about 2.5 more hours, I am putting in four beer can chickens… and my first bacon explosion. Instead of Italian sausage, I am using some duck, goose and feral hog sausage that was made at Fischer’s Meat Market in Muenster, Texas.
This is going to be epic.
Haha, I’m making this right now. I hope the neighbors are jealous, because the breeze is carrying the most amazing delicious smell away from the BBQ. Happy 4th!
wow… this is like the second coming of the aporkalypse. love it!
Thanks so much guys! Your easy to follow recipe was a hit this 4th of July! We made our own sesoning and used organic bbq sauce and it was fabulous! It is a lot better if you use sausage and bacon without MSG or nitrates or nitrites! As natural and bacony as it could get!
I made this today and the outside bacon weave turned out fantastic. I think the Italian Sausage overwhelmed the inner bacon though. So next time, I’m going to use breakfast sausage and use another 1/2 pound of bacon, crumble it up and mix it together like a meat loaf.
I’m going to eating this bad boy all week. And hey, why does my left arm hurt all of a sudden?
My brother-in-law made it tonight…
it made my lungs collapse.
but seriously, it was crazy. Tasted great, but never again.
I have purchased a whole tube bologna. I am going to hollow out the center 2 inches. Into this void I will put toasted provolone and cripsy smoked bacon soaken in Tennessee Whiskey BBQ sauce. Then I am going to put the magic bacon weave to it and make it squeal until it is cripsy on the outside. I have had Oklahoma style BBQ’ed bologna before and I am betting this will be a step up…
Just stumbled upon this site. I am so amazed that this was created. I can’t wait to b part of this fine fraternity. Long live the bacon prince
Bubba HoTep Please do not desecrate the natural pork goodnesss of the Bacon Explosion by adding Bologna!!
wow greats
Just made this for the 4th of July celebration in Texas!!! Amazing dish; take care not to let the health department know you’re building this and keep your distance during the actual cooking process. You can actually feel your arteries clog! My next attempt will be a healthy version, I’ll add mushrooms and onopns in the middle.
This will surely become a great weapon against muslim extremist after they finish outlawing our guns and ammo.
Does this come Kosher?
Lol..this is delish…love bacon! Oddly enough, my daughter sliced some a little thinner and put it on a pizza she made…and it was YUMMY too….Thanks so much for this recipe.
ummm this is what people eat for their last meal. It doesnt even look good
Wow, it’s the best. with just the right amount of bacon, we all think so anyway. We took pictures and fully documented the process, and just looking at the pics makes me hungry all over again. My mind is working on all sorts of variations using Elk, Venison, Bison, and other meats of less then normal use. Cheers to clogged arteries.
Some layered onions would make this double heavenly.
WOW!!! Don’t look wifey, but I’m goin’ for this!!!
looks awesome, I’ll have to try it…..although it also looks like a heart attack waiting to happen
i feel bad for all the jews, muslums, and vegeterirans who can’t taste this beef masterpeice.
my tastebuds have exploded when i tasted this pork masterpiece
Not that great. And DEFINITELY not worth the clogged arteries and crappy feeling you get after eating it.
“Sad Face” obviously did not make or eat this. I made one for the Fourth and it was heavenly. Served it on a Kaiser Roll with marinated, grilled peppers and onions. Better than I had imagined.
A GOD DOES EXCIST
it is very good. made a couple for the Super Bowl. It was a sinful pleasure for all who attended. Now this weekend I return to the smoker, pork woven tight, some with jalopeno’s some with cheese. For the non pork inclined we’ll be smoking up salmon as well. keep up the good work…erp…
Thank god for the bacon exsplosion and swine flu scare we now have to share less bacon
@Vegans
It is a widely known fact that vegetarian is an old Native American word for “Poor Hunter”! You dumb fucking vegans, don’t you realize that humans eating meat is what helped us evolved from living in trees, to the infancy of space exploration. Why, because the fat from the meat they were eating made human brains grow bigger. Notice there were no Vegans on Star Trek, that’s because 400 years from now, us meat eaters will be exploring the galaxy, and your dumb asses will have died off, God I love evolution.
@the greater of this recipe.
I am going to try this soon, cuz it sounds fucking awesome. I am willing to bet the smell of this on the grill is just too much. With any luck, this is what we’ll be cooking the day humans make first contact. Till then it’ll satiate that need, that primal desire for pork. The hamburger idea sounded good too, maybe one could bast it with beef stock while it’s in the smoker, so the beef doesn’t dry out. You could use a turkey baster for this I’m willing to bet.
Or maybe an injector syringe to inject the beef stock into the beef.
OMG! Didn’t you know that advanced societies are all veggies? They are so evolved they don’t need protein. They also listen to michael jackson every day.
Tube of love.