Bacon Explosion:
Not my invention, google the term to see the origins. My take on it leaves out the BBQ sauce.
- Take one pound of bacon and cook it to crisp. (obviously save the fat for another recipe like the bacon drippings mayo)
- Take another pound of bacon (you know a recipe will be good when it includes that line) which is about 10-12 strips.
- Weave these into a mat either 5x5 or 6x6 by alternating them over and under like a chair seat.
- I like to sprinkle this with a Jamaican Jerk dry rub mixture. Use whatever spices seem right to you. Or leave plain.
- Spackle the bacon mat with about 1.5 pounds of sausage. Italian or breakfast sausage works well. You can use a combination of spicy and mild, or whatever you want. Chorizo would be a bit overkill. Think sausage meatloaf.
- Crumble the cooked bacon and spread evenly over the sausage.
- Here's the only thing close to tricky, carefully roll up the sausage around the cooked bacon, leaving the bacon mat untouched, and ending up with a round loaf at one end of the bacon mat and is the full width of the mat. Then roll the loaf back the other way wrapping the bacon mat around it. Sprinkle more dry rub if you wish.
- Here you can either smoke it in a smoker for 2-3 hours (about an hour per inch of thickness), or cook it low and slow (250-degree) for the same amount of time, or I like to roast the bacon to crisp it a bit (500 for about 30 minutes) then turn the temperature down to 250 for another hour or so. Cook till internal temperature is right for pork (can't remember right now, 145?)
I cook mine on a broiler pan with the slits in the bottom. This allows all of the grease to drip down.
What you're left with is a beautiful, smokey, spicy meatloaf.
Slice and enjoy.
My wife is horrified by this so I only make it when she's out of town.
Weeee!
Plane