{Miniature} Bacon Wrapped Fatty

You might call it a Bacon Wrapped Fatty or a Bacon Explosion but the bottom line is that these lil’puppy's are one of the best things since sliced bread. Making them miniature sized (versus entire sausage roll, stuffed, wrapped) just ups the ante on awesomeness! Finger Food…mmm.

Important Information

 Prep Time: 1 hour Yield: About 12-14 pieces Cook Time: 1 hour  Smoker Temp: 225°F - 275°F Meat Finish Temp: 160°F Recommended Wood: Mesquite

What You'll Need

 1-½ lbs ground breakfast sausage  1 lb of bacon (or 1 strip each)  Pork Rub of your choice  One or more of the filling recipes below

Prepare the Fillings

For the larger fatty, you would normally just layer on the ingredients such as cheese, onions, jalapeños, pulled pork, ham, barbecue sauce, etc. but since we are working with miniatures, I have found it to be much easier to go ahead and mix the ingredients ahead of time then spoon a tablespoon of it onto the sausage and wrap it up. Don't feel constrained by the amounts or the ingredients. Let your imagination run wild. Each of these will make enough for about 3-4 miniature bacon wrapped fatties. I usually mix up several of these fillings and make an assortment.

Reuben Filling

 2 TBS pastrami, chopped or shredded into small pieces  2 TBS Sauerkraut  1 TBS Swiss cheese, grated  2 TBS 1000 Island dressing (use more if desired)

Ham and Cheddar

 3 heaping TBS of ham, diced  2 cheddar cheese cubes (Try grated instead of cubes)  1 TBS of BBQ sauce

Hawaiian Pulled Pork

 2 TBS of pulled pork, shredded into small pieces  1 TBS of pineapple, crushed (drained)  1 TBS of BBQ sauce

Buffalo Chicken

 3 heaping TBS of diced or shredded chicken  1 TBS of BBQ sauce  1 TBS of Frank's Original Red Hot sauce  1 cheddar cheese cube (optional)

Asian Pulled Pork

 4 TBS of pulled pork, shredded into small pieces  1 TBS of Sriracha sauce  1 TBS of Hellman's REAL mayonnaise  1 TBS of BBQ sauce

Pizza

 1 TBS of pepperoni, diced  1 TBS of mushrooms, diced  1 TBS of red onions, chopped  1 TBS of mozzarella cheese, shredded  1 TBS of BBQ sauce

Surf n' Turf

 2 TBS of raw* sirloin (or other tender steak), chopped into small pieces  2 TBS of very small shrimp or shrimp cut into small pieces  1 TBS of green peppers/onions cooked until al dente in a frying pan with a little olive oil  ½ TBS of Worcestershire sauce

*The steak will reach at least medium during the cooking process. If you are worried about it, you can always cook/grill it first.

Atomic Bomb’s

 1 TBS of cream cheese, softened  1 TBS of mixed cheese, grated (Mexican blend, 4 cheese blend, etc.)  2 TBS of jalapeño, cleaned, deseeded and chopped (want less heat, use green chili’s, chopped)  1 TBS of lil' smokies, chopped into small pieces

Once your selected fillings are made and ready, set them aside.

Prepare and Fill the Sausage

Divide 1 pound of sausage into 10 equal sized balls. Simply make the sausage ball then flatten the sausage into a boat right there in your hand.

It was also easy to stuff with the filling right there in my hand.

Fold it over like a taco and pinch the edges together to seal it closed.

Form into shape by rolling in your hand and pressing in on both ends just a little bit.

Wrap in a single strip of bacon. Consider crisping the bacon by precooking it until it's about half done, but still flexible enough to wrap around the filled sausage. You will want the bacon on the final product to be crisp, so do it now, or be able to set a higher temp on your smoker to crisp it while smoking…Your call…either way works.

Roll in a plate of dry rub (pork, or your favorite)… They will look something like this… about 3 ½” x 1 ½”

In order to keep them separate, I placed each individual kind in a separate plate with a small label on the edge of each plate notating what the filling was. Consider making a cheat sheet, and use colored toothpicks in each TYPE of filling you used…toothpick stands up well in the smoker too! This to me is much classier than a label…

Getting the Smoker Ready

Set up the smoker for cooking at about 225°F to 275°F (if you are able to) with plenty of smoking wood to last about 1 hour. I recommend using mesquite for a good smoke flavor in a limited amount of time. A little hotter than normal is better as it helps to crisp the bacon. Note: In colder weather, it is advisable to preheat the smoker at least an hour or more before you are wanting to use it. Keep the door closed as much as possible and even skip basting if necessary to maintain proper smoking temperatures.

Smoking the Bacon Wrapped Fatties

Place them directly on the smoker grate. You can easily cook these hotter to help crisp up the bacon a little better (if you didn’t precook it partially) but they will generally get done in about 35-40 minutes at 275°F. If you do them as hot as 275°F, watch the internal temperature -- when they reach 160°F in the center, they are done regardless of how hot you decide to smoke them.

Serving the Smoked Bacon Wrapped Fatties

These are more of an appetizer for tailgating, parties, backyard BBQ events, etc. so I just recommend you bring ‘em, and let everyone dive right in while the cheese and filling is still bubbling.

The ham and cheddar cheese cut open.. cheese oozing nicely even after it's been sitting for a few minutes.

The reuben version was especially good but I felt like I wanted more sauerkraut taste.

And finally, the Hawaiian pulled pork was absolutely heavenly!

Aloha!