Bacon Sausage Bites, Sweet and Spicy

Right now there is a recipe making the rounds on the bbq/smoking message boards that people are calling “pork shots” or “pork candy.” It sausagebaconbitessweetspicy1basically consists of taking a slice of sausage, like kielbasa, and wrapping a strip of thick bacon around it to form a little pork cup and then filling it with some kind of spice mixture. It’s a pretty awesome idea. I am going to be experimenting with this idea trying different spice/filling ideas. Here is the basic sweet and spicy version that has been pretty popular so far. (Thanks to a thread on smokingmeatforums from poster solaryellow for the spice formula)

Bacon-Sausage Bites, Sweet and Spicy

  • Kielbasa
  • Thick cut bacon
  • 1 1/2 cups brown sugar
  • 2 tsp homemade chipotle powder
  • 2 tsp paprika
  • 1 1/2 tsp granulated garlic
  • 1 1/2 tsp onion powder
  • toothpicks
  1. Slice sausage into rounds about 1/2 thick or about half the width of your bacon
  2. Cut bacon strips to size to wrap around sausage round with a little overlap
  3. Wrap bacon around sausage round and stick toothpick at overlap going through sausage to hold bacon to it
  4. In a bowl combine and mix spices thoroughly
  5. Fill each pork cup with 1 to 1/2 spice mixture
  6. a)If you have a smoker, toss on at 230 degrees and smoke until bacon is crisp
    b)If you have a grill, cook over indirect heat by leaving burner under pork cups unlit, on low to medium heat until bacon is crisp

Tips

  • the best bacon to use slab bacon that you slice thick yourself
  • If using store sliced bacon, buy the thickest possible
  • You may need to paper towel the bacon a bit if it is overly slippery
  • these are spicy, you can cut down on the chipolte and paprika if needed
  • The key is to cook them low and slow so as not to burn the brown sugar but to caramelize it while crisping the bacon.
  • An oven at 250 can be used as well
  • The smoker using some wood chunks would be the best option if possible

Meet the Author

TailgateJoe

Joe "TailgateJoe" Maino is one of the country's foremost authorities on tailgating and NFL fandom, BBQ, grilling, and all forms of live fire cooking. Starting out over 20 years ago as the tailgate organizer for his group of friends on gameday where he quickly developed a passion. Joe formed TailgateJoe in 2009 to share his love of the Jets, NFL fandom, and live fire cooking with others, and now hosts thousands of guests each season as well as providing catering and event hosting for select corporations and high end events. Joe is always available to talk BBQ and live fire cooking gadgets and techniques, the Jets, and NFL fandom as an expert in the field.

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