Bacon Explosion!

Guest Blogger: Pat with Chloe Sous Chef

If you want your new food creation to become an Internet viral sensation, give it a great name, and make sure it includes lots of bacon.

When I first saw a bacon explosion in a New York Times article, I knew the question wasn’t, “If?” but “When?” I would make one. And there didn’t seem to be a better time to make one than during an office potluck luncheon in which bacon would be featured in every dish.

One of the great things about a bacon explosion is its infinite versatility. The basic concept—ground meat surrounding crumbled bacon, and surrounded by a bacon lattice, lends itself to a near infinite variety of additions, substitutions, alterations, and creativity. Here is how I went about making my inaugural bacon explosion.

First, a quick jaunt to my local grocery store was in order. At some point in my planning process, I had decided that my meat base would be a 50/50 combination of ground beef and ground pork. I found a 1¼ lb package of ground sirloin in the meat case, and decided that an equivalent weight of ground pork sausage would work. For good measure, I also requested 1¼ pounds of the store-cured bacon. While I was at the store, I figured my inaugural bacon explosion required a suitable libation, and on a friend’s recommendation, I went with a Wells Banana Bread beer. It didn’t disappoint!
Upon getting home and making sure my camera was charged up, and with constant supervision from my trusty Sous Chef Chloe the cat, it was on to getting on with the cooking. I made a 6 strip by 6 strip weave of bacon on parchment paper, and put the rest of the bacon in a cast iron skillet to fry on the stovetop. I gave the bacon lattice a thorough sprinkling of a homemade barbecue dry rub featuring all the ingredients one would expect in a homemade BBQ dry rub. While the bacon was frying, I mixed the ground meats in a mixing bowl by hand, and applied it evenly on top of the bacon lattice.

The cooked bacon was allowed to cool, then crumbled and placed in the center axis of the ground meat. I then rolled the loaf by “folding” it into thirds, and worked it by hand to a cylindrical shape. The parchment paper helped keep it from sticking to the work surface. A final coating of dry rub finished the spice contribution.

Meanwhile, I also fired up my smoker (Google “Frankenbrinkman” to see the inspiration for my smoker modifications) with lump charcoal and a few pieces of maple hardwood. I inserted the water pan into the smoker and filled it with boiling water, then put a grill immediately above the water pan and placed the loaf on the grill. A meat thermometer was placed in the center of the loaf. The smoker temperature was maintained at 220 degrees, give or take.

Approximately 2 ½ hours into the smoking process, I brushed on a healthy coating of homemade tangy, tomato-based barbecue sauce on all sides of the loaf (no photo here; I couldn’t simultaneously apply BBQ sauce and snap pictures). After 3 ½ hours, the internal temperature hit 165 degrees, so I took it off the smoker, and after snapping one last quick picture, I covered it tightly in foil and refrigerated it in anticipation of the potluck the next day.

To serve, I reheated it and cut it into slices approximately one-half inch thick. A drizzle of BBQ sauce finished it off. Voila!

I was pleasantly surprised at how well it turned out. I was expecting something tasting like over-the-top gluttony, but that really wasn’t the case. The smoke created a mouth-watering aroma. It had a distinctively meaty flavor, and the spice and tang from the BBQ sauce added a nice, but not overpowering tang. I was honestly surprised at how the different meats, smoke, and BBQ sauce complimented each other, leading to a very balanced flavor. The comments I received from my fellow potluckers were extraordinary:

“Supreme…like a smoky bacon meatloaf.”

“Words cannot express! So much smoky, salty goodness in one bite… Only nodding and grunting can truly communicate the delight.”

“It brought back fond memories of camp fire cooking delight. The smoke ring was truly impressive.”

“I’m ready for round 2!”

“It was so good that I’m currently dreaming about it in a bacon-induced food coma….z.zzzzzzzzzz……..huh?.. what was the question agai…..n..zzzzzzz…bacon…zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz”

“Best dish at the potluck.”

“It’s making me fat, but I’m still eating it.”

“It was a meat-tastic art masterpiece.”

Bon appétit y’all!