I Feel Like Bacon Love!

Though it’s been quite some time since I’ve blogged, I thought: “why not come back with a bang?” Or better yet: “why not come back with an explosion, a Bacon Explosion that is!” Before I go any further, I must give all the credit in the world to those pork-geniuses at BBQAddicts.com, inventors of one of the greatest, fattest, saltiest pieces of heaven we will ever know.

My experience with the Bacon Explosion came to me this past year when a few friends and I decided to tailgate before a Philly Wings Lacrosse game. I had received a pre-made vacuum-sealed frozen explosion as a gift from a friend a few months earlier and I felt guilty that this piece of bacon-goodness was sitting in the freezer, not being appreciated for what it truly is. After baking according to the manufacturer’s instructions, we were all blown away.

Now this past weekend, I decided to venture out on my own and make one from scratch. First, I started by weaving the recommended thick-cut bacon into a 5 slice by 5 slice piece. Now if only that Longenberger basket  company weaved all their baskets from cured pork products, I’d become a huge fan! But alas, it’s just a fatty pipe-dream and those baskets still suck!

I then proceeded to cover the weave with 2 lbs of pork sausage and one fully-cooked package of bacon.

After seasoning with my homemade BBQ seasoning mix (cumin, garlic, paprika, chili powder, etc), I rolled it all up like a fatty (yes, pun intended) and seasoned it some more.

After cooking for about 2 ½ hours at a low 235 degrees, I pulled it from the oven. Now I could have finished here, but it was meant to be eaten later in the weekend. So, I wrapped it and threw it into the fridge. I could swear at night I could hear it calling my name from inside the fridge, but I think maybe it was the beer I was drinking.

On the day it was to be eaten, I pulled it from the fridge, reheated it for 45 minutes in the oven and coated it with some BBQ sauce for the last 10 minutes. I used Sweet Baby Rays sauce, which has become my favorite commercial BBQ sauce.

Now here’s where the similarity between my first bacon explosion and this one ends. I then sliced it thinly and put it onto fresh Kaiser rolls with Dijon mustard, romaine lettuce and some sliced pickled hot peppers I had canned last summer.

My opinion? I now know why some religions are against eating pork: I felt guilty eating something so forbiddingly good. Regardless, the sandwich was a slice of heaven on a roll. With each bite you thank the good Lord for creating pigs and for the taste buds that allow you savor all that flavor! You find good reason to thank Him for creating fellow humans that come up with the ideas of smoking meat, creating BBQ sauce and creating fatty monstrosities like the Bacon Explosion. Finally you pray that your arteries don’t become too clogged from eating this thing. The sweet & hot combo of the peppers balanced the smoky & salty flavor of the pork perfectly. The subtle crunch of the bacon with the moisture of the pork sausage complemented each other well. They say the only way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. And bacon definitely is the EZPass of that trip!