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!
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.
