In the Spring . . .

A man's fancy turns to thoughts of . . . Well, I don't know about the rest of y'all, but for me, it's BACON. Yup, that's right. By now, everyone on this planet with an internet connection has seen the Bacon Explosion. We thought it was one of the most intriguing foods to come along for a while, and had planned to try one over Spring Break in another week or so. However, my bride was out of town this weekend, and I did get several chores done, and therefore thought a little fun would be in order. So I tried one.

Here's the deal. They're really easy to do. And, I think I learned a couple of things that will help on the "real" one in a week or so. You start with a woven bacon mat. Sprinkle it with whatever rub or spices you like. I used some Tony C's.

By the way, while you're weaving the bacon, you can be frying the remainder of the 2 lbs you started with. Make it crisp, 'cause you're gonna have to crumble it. Then you form your sausage into a big patty that covers the bacon. It's good to separate the sausage from the bacon with a sheet of waxed paper at this point, because the sausage is rolled separately. Then you sprinkle some more of your rub on the sausage, put on the bbq sauce, and then put on the crumbled bacon. I used Owens sausage - one pound of regular and one pound of hot. BBQ sauce was a basic honey hickory smoke sauce. The sweet sauces make a shinier glaze. Tip - actually press the crumbled bacon into the sausage - helps when you roll it up. I shoulda used more bbq sauce, too. When you think you've got about the right amount on, add about 50% more.

Then you roll up the sausage / crumbled bacon layer, seal the edges, and then roll that up in the bacon mat. Coat the whole thing with more bbq sauce and put it on the smoker. I had to use the little smoker box on my grill - it'll be better on a real smoker - but this worked. Just keep the heat low, and get a bit of smoke working. I used apple.

Two to three hours later, you get this glazed, smoked beauty. Cut into it and enjoy. It's disgustingly good. Lessons learned - use more bbq sauce, press the crumbled bacon into the sausage, and it'll be better on a smoker. A grill runs a little hotter, and the bottom got pretty crispy. Not burned, but close.

I've got a friend, using a very loose interpretation of that word, who believes eating these is a good plan. With the economy the way it is now, if you eat these regularly, you probably won't have to worry about not having money for retirement. You really won't last that long.

That's all for now. Gotta run out for Lipitor.