This smoked Bacon Wrapped BBQ Fatty Recipe is the best thing you will grill all weekend. Crispy bacon, ground pork, homemade mac and cheese, BBQ sauce…this recipe is easy and fun to make and easy and fun to eat!
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There isn’t much that makes people more curious than the words “bacon weave”. Pair that with “mac and cheese stuffed” and “BBQ sauce” and you’ll have people scratching their heads not knowing what their mouth is watering for.
Well, it’s this bacon-wrapped BBQ fatty. And just wait until you try it.
If you are a fan of bacon-wrapped recipes, be sure to check out bacon wrapped chorizo jalapeño poppers or bacon wrapped beer brats.
What is bacon-wrapped fatty?
A bacon-wrapped fatty is essentially a smoked sausage stuffed log.
Thick-cut bacon is weaved together, topped with pork sausage and homemade mac and cheese, then rolled up into a log and smoked until steamy and crispy.
Once you have mastered the woven deliciousness part, you can put your signature spin on them in a thousand different ways by seasoning the sausage or stuffing with anything.
What the fatty is filled with varies and I have seen everything from cheesesteak to burger fixings inside of them.
What you need to make this recipe
- Bacon – use thick-cut bacon for the best results.
- Pork Sausage – you can use ground pork sausage or sausage links.
- Head Country Apple Habanero BBQ Sauce – or low-carb homemade keto bbq sauce, or any BBQ sauce you have on hand
- Head Country Original Seasoning
- Homemade Mac and Cheese – you can also use boxed mac and cheese for easier prep.
How to make bacon-wrapped BBQ fatty
To make the bacon weave
You’ll start by dividing your bacon into two equal piles.
Arrange half of the strips onto a clean work surface, length to length. This should form a square. Fold back every other strip of bacon.
Starting with the reserved half of bacon, lay a strip perpendicular across the square of bacon.
Fold up the previously turned down strips to weave the first piece in place. Fold down the strips that you didn’t turn down previously (every other one.) You should start to see a weave forming.
Arrange the next slice of bacon across the square, folding the turned down strips to form the weave. Repeat these steps until all the bacon is used up, adjusting the length as needed.
To make the BBQ pork filling
In a large bowl, combine ground bacon sausage, BBQ sauce, and seasoning.
Press the filling evenly over the bacon weave.
Spoon the mac and cheese into the center of the pork, leaving a 1” edge from the top and bottom.
Starting with one edge, roll the BBQ fatty up, making sure the bacon weave comes with it. Pinch the edges together along the crease and on both ends.
Fold the bacon in on itself to secure, then sprinkle with additional seasoning.
To smoke the BBQ fatty
First, preheat the smoker to 225ºF.
Lay the BBQ pork fatty, seam side down, on the cooler side of your smoker.
Cover and smoke until the internal temperature reaches 165ºF and the bacon is crispy, then remove from the smoked fatty from the smoker, cool, slice, and serve with BBQ sauce for dipping.
What temperature to smoke a fatty
I smoke the BBQ fatty at 225ºF which cooks the fatty throughout and crisps the bacon just right. This usually takes about an hour to achieve. If your smoker comes with a sear setting, you can use this at the end, with caution to avoid flare ups, to crisp the bacon even more.
Make sure your pork temps at 165F per USDA safety recommendations with an instant-read thermometer.
Other smoked fatty fillings
If you feel like pork sausage with the bacon weaved around it is taking pork to an extreme you can’t quite handle, feel free to get creative. Once you’ve mastered the woven deliciousness part, you can put your signature spin on this bacon wrapped fatty in a thousand different ways.
You can even make a few varieties for your next football game. (Yes, they are that easy.) And everyone loves them!
- I use smoked jalapeño mac and cheese but use your favorite mac and cheese recipe!
- Make the fatty spicy or sweet by using hot sausage or breakfast sausage.
- Whip up a batch of meatloaf and use that instead of pork for the filling.
- Swap the mac and cheese out for french fries and melted cheese or a generous helping of my philly cheesesteak fries.
- Use beef instead of pork and top it with shredded sharp cheddar for a gooey, melty interior. I recommend using 80/20 to make it similar to lean pork.
- Swap the pork out for ground lamb and sprinkle some feta and chopped parsley into the mac and cheese for a Grecian spin on things.
- You can use ground chicken or turkey, but you’ll want to mix the meat with breadcrumbs and a couple of eggs to help hold it together.
- You can substitute the pork bacon for turkey bacon. I haven’t tried this, admittedly, but it should work. I just feel like if you’re going to wrap it with bacon, you should commit to it heart and soul.
Tips, tricks, and notes for this recipe
- Use thick-cut bacon so it doesn’t overcook while the filling cooks through. If you do use thinly sliced bacon, I recommend doubling it up.
- Make sure the bacon is chilled before assembling the weave. This makes it easier to work with.
- Create the weave on plastic wrap, foil, or parchment paper so it’s easy to roll up all together.
- When you lay out the strips of bacon, make sure they’re evenly spaced so it all cooks evenly. Nothing brings a party down like uncooked bacon.
- After you have the weave laid out, cover it with plastic wrap and roll it out with a rolling pin to flatten it a bit. This brings the edges together and creates a perfect covering of bacon when you roll it up with the filling. If you don’t have a rolling pin, you can use the side of a straight-sided jar.
- Cook the fatty over the cooler side of the grill so you don’t burn the bacon.
- Make sure the bacon cooks until it’s crispy enough to hold everything together but not so crispy that it becomes fragile.
How to store
Leftover fatty will last in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-5 days.
More delicious smoker recipes
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Smoked Bacon Wrapped BBQ Fatty Recipe
Recommended Equipment
- Cast iron pan
Ingredients
- 1 lbs bacon thick cut
- 1 lbs pork sausage Ground pork sausage or sausage links
- 1 tbsp Head Country Apple Habanero Bar-B-Que Sauce Any bbq sauce works as an option
- 1 tbsp Head Country Original Seasoning You can use your own seasoning blends too
- 1 cup homemade creamy mac and cheese Boxed mac and cheese work too
Instructions
To Make the Bacon Weave
- On a clean work surface, divide your bacon into 2 equal piles.
- Arrange half of the strips on your work surface, length to length, forming a square.
- Fold back every other strip of bacon
- Starting with the reserved half of bacon, lay a strip perpendicular across the square of bacon.
- Fold up the previously turned down strips to weave the first piece in place.
- Fold down the strips that you didn’t turn down in the last step (every other one). You should start to see the weave forming.
- Arrange the next slice of bacon across the square, folding the turned down strips atop to form the weave.
- Repeat these steps until all the bacon is used up, adjusting the length as needed.
For the BBQ Pork Filling:
- In a large bowl, combine the ground bacon sausage with the Apple Habanero Bar-B-Que sauce and Head Country Original Seasoning.
- Mix to combine.
- Press the bbq bacon sausage filling evenly over the bacon weave.
- Spoon the mac and cheese into the center of the pork, leaving a 1″ edge from the top and bottom.
- Starting with one edge, roll the entire BBQ fatty up, making sure the bacon weave comes with it.
- Pinch the edges together along the crease and both ends.
- Fold the bacon in on itself to secure.
- Sprinkle the remaining Head Country Original seasoning over the top.
Smoking the BBQ Fatty
- Start the smoker:
- Preheat the smoker to 225 F.
- Lay the bbq pork fatty, seam side down on the cooler side of your smoker.
- Cover and smoke until the internal temp of the pork reaches 165F and the bacon is crispy.
- Remove from the smoker and allow to cool 5 minutes before slicing and serving with additional bbq sauce for dipping.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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I’m wondering if you can pre cook the bacon just to render a bit of fat in the oven. Keep pliable then chill. Then make weave. Will this make sure that it cooks through? I’ve had problems with the bacon staying limp and fatty when I do meatloaf like this.
I also wonder if you could do pulled pork (hence par cooked bacon) wrapped fatty adding rendered
Bacon drippings to meat before wrapping.
Any suggestions? My husband hates cheese.
Great recipe and you are gorgeous btw.
Why 165°? And 225°? That will take literally for ever. Did you mean 325°maybe?
Hi Randy, I go for 165 internal temp for food safety and smoke at 225. Feel free to bump up the temp, but since this isn’t a huge cut I found that it reached temp rather quickly, as far as smoking goes. I hope you guys enjoy!
Once a month, we get together and try a new recipe out. This one looks like it would be a great one for the office Supper Bowl party.
Love the idea of using the smoked jalapeno mac and cheese recipe!