Tips on Making the Bacon Explosion

by Sara Bonisteel, Posted Jan 30th 2009 @ 3:45PM

It's the bacon sensation that's sweeping the nation, and now one of the innovators of the Bacon Explosion tells Slashfood just what you'll need to perfect this smoked wonder for your celebration.

Ever since Jason Day and his barbecue buddy Aaron Chronister first blogged about the Bacon Explosion on Dec. 23, 2008, bacon fans have been drooling over the four-pound pork-roll concoction, a smoked bacon-and-pork meat treat that's found fans from Facebook to the New York Times.

"We compete as Burnt Finger BBQ, and it was just to generate some funds to help us support our hobby," said Day, a 27-year-old Kansas City Barbecue Society competitor from Roeland Park, Kan. "I guess we just struck a chord with America and the world."

It's easy to see why. It only takes a few hours to transform thick-cut bacon -- woven into a protective outer blanket -- and your favorite pork sausage (stuffed with more bacon naturally) into a glistening loaf of bacon goodness.

Click here to read the Bacon Explosion recipe.

Plan to budget $20 to $30 to make one Explosion, Day said.

"It really depends on how much you want to spend on the ingredients when you go into it," he said. "There are awfully cheap brands of bacon out there that you can get for just a couple bucks, or you can go gourmet bacon, gourmet sausage and drive the price up."

Day recommends Italian sausage, though experimentation with other sausages is encouraged.

But he warns there can be pratfalls in the preparation.

"If you're going to try and attempt to smoke it, do not put it over direct heat," he said. "Do not grill it!"

"Grilling is different than smoking," he continued. "The bacon fat will render and drip down onto your hot coals or the gas grill onto the flame, and it will cause flare-ups, and then the whole thing will catch on fire. And that is not good."

Click here for more on the Bacon Explosion from BBQAddicts.com.

Filed Under: Interviews
Tags: bacon, bacon explosion, BaconExplosion, grill, how to, HowTo, pork, recipe