After you make a couple of these, you will find that it is easy to adapt to your own personal taste buds. There are many variations of the Bacon Explosion but I prefer versions that are well suited for breakfast/brunch.
Ingredients
- 1.5-2 lbs of bacon - regular or thick cut. I personally like the regular bacon because it's easier to get crispy.
- 1 lb of ground breakfast sausage. You can use any variety. For a dinner, you can use Italian sausage.
- Pre-cooked bacon bits - approx. 1/2-1 C
- 1/2 C shredded cheese - cheddar or any variety
- 1/2 C precooked hash browns or French fried onions
- Maple syrup
- Memphis Low N Slow Beef and Pork Rub (optional)
Prep Process (pre-heat the Memphis Grill or oven to 350F)
- Place 7-8 strips of bacon closely next to each other, then weave a second layer of bacon through these strips to make a mat of bacon that is approximately one foot square.
- Lightly sprinkle seasoning on top of the mat of bacon. This adds a little flavor but also keeps the sausage from sticking to the bacon (see #8).
- Evenly spread 1 lb of breakfast sausage over the bacon. This will be a thin layer about 3/8" thick.
- Sprinkle bacon bits or bits of precooked bacon over the breakfast sausage.
- Sprinkle cheese on top of sausage
- Sprinkle hash browns or French fried onions over sausage.
- Drizzle some maple syrup over the sausage.
- Back-roll the sausage only so you create a layered log containing all of the ingredients except for the bacon. As you roll the sausage, keep the log tight and lightly press to remove excess air from being trapped inside.
- Forward roll the sausage and mat of bacon until it completely surrounds the sausage.
- It's ready to cook!
Cooking
- If the Memphis Grill or oven is ready at 350F, place the Bacon Explosion directly on the lower cooking grates.
- Cook until the bacon is done until internal temp reaches 160F. Normally, this takes about 1.5 hours depending on how crispy you like your bacon.
- Cut and serve immediately.
Note, some people will smoke the Bacon Explosion at 225-250F. Here, the general rule is that it will take one hour of cooking for each inch of diameter. Most take 2.5-3 hours but does not make the bacon crisp up as well.
Enjoy!