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Smoked Bacon Explosion

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Pork lovers rejoice, this bacon explosion mixes ground pork, sausage, bacon and more bacon into a roll of deliciousness. You can cook it on a pellet grill, traditional smoker or over indirect heat on a grill. No matter how you cook it, it is sure to be tasty!

Dinner plate with two slices of bacon explosion, pea salad, and green beans.

If you have never had a bacon fatty before, you can think of it kind of like a bacon meatloaf that is both stuffed with bacon and wrapped in a bacon weave. It has smokey notes, BBQ sauce, and all the bacon your taste buds could hope for.

We have been enjoying bacon explosions for several years. My brother K.C. has been making them for probably at least a decade and he even one a cookoff with his turkey bacon explosion.

But this pork version is the original and it is still our favorite. We originally shared the recipe with my brother’s help back in May of 2015.

Now that we own a pellet smoker it seemed like it was time for me to make one all by myself. It was worth the effort!

Preparing the Bacon Explosion

Start by cooking a pound of bacon until it is crispy. I like to cook bacon in the oven because it is less messy.

Plus I could go ahead and start the next steps while the bacon was cooking. To cook the bacon in the oven, layer it out on a large rimmed baking sheet.

Place the bacon filled baking sheet in a cold oven and shut the door. Turn the oven to 400F and set the timer for 18 minutes.

Sheet pan filled with freshly baked bacon slices and the accompanying bacon grease, ready to be drained and used in the middle of the bacon explosion.

Check the bacon and add a few more minutes if you would like your bacon to be more done. When it is cooked to your liking, move the bacon to a paper towel lined plate to drain.

Meanwhile, start your bacon weave. You will want to lay out a piece of wax paper and start by laying about 1/2 of the bacon side by side.

Now take the end of every other piece of bacon and pull them back slightly. Lay a piece of bacon going the opposite direction across the remaining pieces of bacon, then lay the pieces of bacon you had pulled back over the new slice of bacon.

Take the pieces of bacon that are under that first piece of bacon and fold them back. Add another slice of bacon and then fold those pieces back down.

Keep adding pieces of bacon, alternating which slices are over or under the new layer of bacon. It sounds complicated, but it really is quite simple. Sprinkle a little bit of BBQ rub over the bacon.

Mix together the sausage and ground pork. Pat it into a rectangle over the bacon weave, leaving an inch border around the edges where there is no ground meat.

Sprinkle more rub over the meat. Then drizzle with a couple of Tablespoons of BBQ sauce.

Now crumbled the cooked bacon and spread over the ground meat. Use wax paper to help start rolling the meat.

The bacon weave will roll along with the ground meat, but don’t let it go into the center. Allow the ground pork and sausage mixture to form its own log, then wrap that log in the bacon weave.

Smoking and Serving the Bacon Fatty

Now transfer the whole thing to a preheated smoker or grill. We cooked ours in a PitBoss XL.

Using a pellet smoker helps to keep a nice even temperature and smoke without a lot of work. However, you can cook it in a low smoker or even on a grill over indirect heat.

Preheat the smoker to 225F. Place the roll of meat on the smoker with the seam of the bacon weave down.

You can place it directly on the grates, or use a perforated grill pan to make transferring it easier. Cook until the middle of the roll reads about 155-160F on a meat thermometers.

Brush the top and sides of bacon explosion with your favorite BBQ sauce. We used Blues Hogs rub and sauce because it tastes great and has a nice sheen.

Continue to cook until the center reaches 165F. The exact cook time will depend on the thickness of the roll and your exact cooking temperature.

Remove from the smoker and allow to rest for a few minutes. Then cut into 1-inch slices to serve.

Great Side Dish Ideas

It seems like every time we make a bacon explosion, we also make a batch of pea salad. There is just something about the warm rich meat and cool creamy salad that seems to pair well.

Roasted brussels sprouts would also be a nice option. They go so well with bacon, so this is another fun way to pair them without cooking them together.

Close up of slices of bacon explosion served with pea salad and green beans on dinner plate.

Loaded cornbread would be another tasty addition to this meal. Or whip up some deviled egg pasta salad.

There really are so many tasty side dish options!

Did you make this recipe? Please leave a review in the recipe card below!

Dinner plate with two slices of bacon explosion, pea salad, and green beans.

Bacon Explosion

Carlee
This bacon explosion is loaded with bacon goodness just as the name suggests. Whether you call it a fatty or an explosion, this meaty rolled treat is part smoked meatloaf and part something altogether different. It is sure to win any bacon fan over.
4.91 from 11 ratings
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 2 hours 30 minutes
Total Time 2 hours 50 minutes
Course Pork
Cuisine American
Servings 8 Servings
Calories 672 kcal

Ingredients
 

  • 2 lbs bacon
  • 1 lb ground pork
  • 1 lb bulk pork sausage
  • 1-2 Tablespoons of your favorite BBQ rub
  • 1-2 cups BBQ sauce

Instructions
 

  • Cook a pound of bacon until crisp.  Crumble and set aside.
  • Basket weave the other pound of bacon.  Sprinkle with rub.
  • Mix together ground pork and sausage. Spread ground pork mixture over bacon weave. Sprinkle with a little more rub and drizzle with a couple of tablespoons of BBQ sauce.
  • Spread crumbled bacon over the ground pork.  Roll ground pork and cooked bacon into a tight roll.  Then roll the basket weaved bacon over the ground pork roll.  
  • If using a pellet grill, preheat to 225°F. Otherwise prepare your smoker or light a grill and set up for indirect heat.
  • Cook seem side down either directly on the grates or on a perforated grill pan. When the internal temperature reaches 155-160°F brush with additional BBQ sauce.
  • Continue to cook until the internal temperature reaches 165°F. The total cook time on our smoker was 1 hour and 45 minutes. The exact time will depend on how thick your bacon explosion is, the exact temperature it is being cooked at, and how often you open the lid.
  • Let rest for a few minutes, then slice and serve.

Notes

You can use all ground pork or all sausage if you prefer. If using all sausage, reduce the amount of rub used.
We like using Blue's Hogs rub and sauce, but you can use your favorite.

Nutrition

Serving: 1ServingCalories: 672kcalCarbohydrates: 21gProtein: 43gFat: 45gSaturated Fat: 15gPolyunsaturated Fat: 27gCholesterol: 143mgSodium: 2101mgSugar: 16g
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Dinner plate with a glossy bbq pork steak, macaroni and cheese, and sauteed zucchini.
This bacon explosion is loaded with bacon goodness just as the name suggests. Whether you call it a fatty or an explosion, this meaty rolled treat is part smoked meatloaf and part something altogether different. It is sure to win any bacon fan over.

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Recipe Rating




Big Rigs 'n Lil' Cookies

Thursday 14th of July 2016

This recipe is from before I met you and your blog, I am so glad it was featured on Carole's Chatter! My husband has recently taken up smoking meats. I am sure if I helped him assemble this he would be as excited as I am to try it!

Carlee

Thursday 14th of July 2016

You guys are going to looooove it! My brother made a turkey version for our poultry cookoff and it was an easy winner.

Unknown

Tuesday 18th of August 2015

Now THIS is my next dinner. It looks so delicious! I can never turn down bacon. And pork wrapped in bacon? Perfection. Thanks for sharing at Inspiration Thursday!

Carlee

Wednesday 19th of August 2015

Bacon does make everything better!

Unknown

Saturday 16th of May 2015

This looks so amazing!

Carlee

Saturday 16th of May 2015

It is one of our favorites. He doesn't make them super often, but they don't last long when he does!

Carlee

Wednesday 13th of May 2015

This is definitely an "in moderation" food, but it is so good that it is really a special treat when he makes one for us! Thanks for stopping by!

Danielle @ A Sprinkle of Joy

Sunday 10th of May 2015

That is a masterpiece! Wow!

Carlee

Sunday 10th of May 2015

It is sooo good! My brother is always making delicious stuff. I hope you are having a wonderful Mother's Day!