Bacon Explosion

Bacon Explosion Dog-wich

  

I finally got my act together and did it. I made some Bacon Explosion. Steve, pictured above, told me all about it last year and we’ve been talking about making some for a while but never really did. We were bringing a group of kids to RFK to watch a DC United game and decided that this called for a nice tailgate complete with artery clogging, smoked pork products and cold, cold beer. We delivered both with much gusto. The kids of course had the usual dogs but there were a few of them that tried the Bacon Explosion and liked it. We’re starting them young.  

What is it exactly? I tell people that you take a pound of bacon and weave it into a mat (many people are already grossed out by this). Cover the mat of bacon with bulk sausage and cooked bacon (more bacon!), slather it with barbecue sauce and roll the whole thing into a log. Smoke it for two and half hours, slather with more barbecue sauce and take a lipitor.  

I am not going to post the recipe here since there are a whole slew of websites that can better explain the process. This is the one I used: http://www.bbqaddicts.com/blog/recipes/bacon-explosion/ . It was easy to follow and had very nice pictures. The only thing I did differently was that at the end of the 2 1/2 hour smoking process, I decided to stick it in a 325 F oven for about 30 minutes. The evening temperature had dropped so our low-tech smoker didn’t seem to be maintaining the right temperature. Once I felt that the smokey flavor (and look) was there, I decided to finish it in the oven just to be safe. Especially since we would be feeding kids (who cares about the adults getting sick?).  

The recipe was fairly easy to make, easy enough in fact that I ended up making two. The Bacon Explosion turned out to be a big hit. We sliced it at the tailgate and put it on the grill for a few minutes to heat up. The whole thing had such a smoky flavor. Between the bacon (that was already smoked), the barbecue sauce (I used the smoked hickory kind) and the actual smoking method itself – it was beyond words. You’d think that it was too much smoke flavor but it was somehow not overwhelming. It was moist and full-bodied more than anything. We had it on potato rolls so it quickly absorbed all the juices and melded into the meat. It was delicious. So perfect with the cold beer on that very, very hot day.  

Steve decided to put a slice of the Bacon between two hot dogs – brilliant. He also shares the dubious title as the only other person to have his picture on my blog. Carlos Bocanegra is the other one. I would make him a Bacon Explosion anytime…..Carlos, call me…