Bacon Wrapped Smoked Fatty
You haven’t lived unless you’ve smoked a fatty! A Bacon Wrapped Smoked Fatty, that is. Savory stuffing with onion, sun-dried tomato, and cheese, enveloped in seasoned honey balsamic ground beef, wrapped in a barbecue bacon weave, and smoked. Finished with a balsamic barbecue glaze, this BBQ fatty is smoked in a Big Green Egg, Kamado Joe, or electric smoker.
In a number of Big Green Egg forums, I kept seeing “fatties” and just had to try one for myself. This smoked fatty recipe is so good it blew my mind. Layered flavors that come together for each freaking tasty bite. Herbs and seasonings in the cheesy stuffing, seasonings and a hint of balsamic in the meat, bacon, and the subtle sweet of barbecue glaze.
This is a to-die-for-tasty, super fun, surprisingly easy, impressive looking, exceptionally good recipe. I include all the directions, tips, and plenty of photos so you too can knock out a bacon wrapped smoked fatty like a rock star.
What even is a BBQ fatty
Picture a stuffed meatloaf, wrap it in bacon and smoke it, and you have got yourself a fatty. You can use any ground meat and change up the fillings with countless combinations. Common examples are breakfast fatties using sausage with scrambled egg filling, pizza fatties, and fatties stuffed with mac and cheese.
Why this recipe is so good
My smoked fatty recipe is so darn good because it is different from any others I have seen. The combination of flavors here is tremendous and I was so surprised how easy this recipe was to make as bonus.
Stuffing – I am a fan. Whether making my own Best Stuffing Ever or using stuffing from a box. Sorry/not sorry, but I love StoveTop stuffing! (#fightme)
I wanted my first fatty stuffed with bread stuffing. I had never put stuffing with beef before, so I added sun-dried tomatoes and onion – flavors that work magically with beef – to bring the stuffing to where it would work with and complement the beef.
The beef itself has a touch of honey balsamic dressing added for moisture and flavor. It is also well seasoned as ground beef always should be.
There’s bacon. Not too much else to say about that. And we finish with a glaze of easy purchased barbecue sauce spruced up with honey balsamic dressing for just enough sweetness to perfect our fatty flavor.
This recipe is so good because it uses easy ingredients, is surprisingly easy to make, and absolutely delicious.
About the ingredients
You can see the full ingredient listing in the recipe card below. Since this is a make-and-smoke-while-we-play-in-the-pool sort of recipe, I used a couple store-bought ingredients. I have alternatives though, so read on.
For the stuffing I used a box of StoveTop stuffing. I LOVE LOVE LOVE my homemade stuffing recipe, but I really only make it holidays, potlucks, or for otherwise big dinners. For my smoked fatty, I opted to dress up StoveTop with onion and sun-dried tomato for simplicity. I prefer the Turkey flavor – it’s the only one I ever get.
To both the ground beef and barbecue glaze, I added balsamic salad dressing with honey. Otherwise known as honey balsamic dressing. I used Ken’s Steakhouse brand, but there are plenty available. This was to add flavor to the ground beef but not use straight-up balsamic vinegar. If you would like to make your own, here is a recipe for Honey Balsamic Vinaigrette.
For the barbecue sauce, I used a noname brand I got from my neighbor’s son’s school fundraiser. If you would like to make your own, I LOVE my Cherry Chipotle Barbecue Sauce recipe. For a store-bought option, I usually go with Sweet Baby Rays.
How to smoke a fatty
Make the stuffing and ground beef mixtures
Both the stuffing and ground beef have simple ingredients that are easily mixed together. Done super quick and easy with not much measuring required.
Make the bacon weave
I made my first bacon weave in my low country BBQ bacon burger recipe, and found it really easy to make. This bacon weave is no different, it’s just larger and uses an entire pound of bacon.
It helps to plan ahead, because once we start making the weave and putting this together, moving it around can be tricky. Using a large, flat bake sheet or countertop works. Lay out 2 sheets plastic wrap, overlapping by a couple inches. Lay half a pound bacon, side-by-side but offset alternating (see photo). This is to make the bacon weave larger to wrap all around the fatty.
Then use the remaining bacon to complete the weave, also offsetting slices alternatively to make a bigger weave.
Assembly
Spread the ground beef mixture on the bacon. Since we added egg and dressing, the meat will be loose and cooperate. Then we put the stuffing down the middle and roll it up.
When rolling the fatty, it is very much like rolling sushi. Lift the plastic wrap and use it to control the roll, lifting the meat and bacon, pressing the stuffing in, and roll it on up.
Once rolled up, before you remove the plastic wrap, move the fatty to the grill grate (off the grill) that you want to cook on. Then once on the grill grate, coax off the plastic wrap.
I recommend using a smaller grill grate that you then put on your primary grate in the grill/smoker. Assemble in the kitchen and place on the smaller grate, take to the cooker and set that grate on the main grate (see photo). Then once the fatty is cooked, transport it back to the kitchen or wherever on the smaller grate. This makes transport from the kitchen to cooker and back much easier.
Smoke the fatty
Regardless of whether you are smoking in a Big Green Egg, Kamado Joe, other kamado-style cooker, or electric smoker, the instructions are the same: 250°F with indirect heat for 2 hours or until internal temperature is 150°F.
Follow the manufacturer’s instructions for the cooking modal used. In an Egg or kamado, this includes using a plate setter to cook with indirect heat.
I like apple wood for this recipe. Apple goes well with the bacon and barbecue sauce. Pecan is another option. In a Big Green Egg or kamado cooker, use 2 medium-sized chunks (2×2) with the bark chipped off. This may not seem like much wood and it won’t last the entire time, but it’s only the first hour where smoke penetrates into the meat anyway.
Using a digital internal temp probe is really handy. We have a Big Green Egg and use a Smobot to control the temperature too. These are handy so we don’t have to babysit as much while cooking for hours.
At the 1-1/2 mark, glaze with the barbecue balsamic mixture. Just gently brush it on and I used maybe half of the sauce on mine in these photos. You can reserve the rest to serve with if desired.
FAQs
Yes. The fatty can be assembled in advance, then refrigerated. It can also be cooked in advance and reheated.
If you aren’t a fan of StoveTop stuffing or if it isn’t available, I would recommend using Pepperidge Farm Crushed Herb Stuffing. Alternatively, you can use stale baguette and add seasonings.
No. This is gentle cooking at 250°F and thick bacon would just get gummy.
For the ultimate in Big Green Egg cooking, see my Smoked Over-The-Top Chili recipe.
Bacon Wrapped Smoked Fatty
Ingredients
For the stuffing mixture
- 1 (6 oz) box Stovetop stuffing Turkey flavor
- 1 large egg lightly beaten
- ½ cup diced white onion
- ¼ cup sun-dried tomatoes in oil drained and chopped
- 1-½ cups shredded cheddar-jack cheese blend
- 2 Tbsp unsalted butter
For the beef mixture
- 1 lb ground beef 85/15
- 1 large egg lightly beaten
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- ¼ tsp garlic powder
- ¼ tsp onion powder
- ½ tsp Montreal steak seasoning
- 2 Tbsp balsamic vinaigrette salad dressing with honey
- 1 lb bacon
For the BBQ glaze
- ¼ cup barbecue sauce
- 2 Tbsp balsamic vinaigrette salad dressing with honey
Instructions
Make the stuffing mixture
- In a bowl, use a spoon to combine the ingredients for the stuffing. Set Aside.
Make the beef mixture
- In a bowl, use your clean hand to loosely combine the ingredients for the beef mixture. Set Aside.
Make the bacon weave
- Lay out 2 sheets plastic wrap, overlapping, to make a 2×2-foot surface.
- Lay out, side by side, half of the bacon offsetting by a couple inches alternatively so as to make a larger surface. In other words, slices 1, 3, 5, etc. are 2 inches more to the right, and slices 2, 4, 6… are 2 inches further to the left.
- Use the remaining bacon to go over-and-under and create the weave.
Assemble the fatty
- Use your fingers to gently spread the beef mixture into an even layer on the bacon weave.
- Pile the stuffing down the center.
- Use the plastic wrap to lift the bacon and beef and roll/wrap around the stuffing. Continue roll, pressing in the stuffing to keep it from spilling out, until roll is complete.
- Transfer fatty to grill grate for transport to the grill/smoker. Remove the plastic wrap and discard.
Smoke the fatty
- Set up your Big Green Egg, kamado-style cooker, or electric smoker for 250°F with indirect heat. In a BGE or kamado, this means using a plate setter.
- Add wood for smoking. In a BGE or kamado, use 2 medium-sized chunks apple wood with the bark chipped off. In an electric smoker, use chips.
- Put the grill grate with the fatty on the grill or in the smoker. Cook/smoke 2 hours.
- After 1-1/2 hours, brush on the balsamic BBQ sauce. Continue cooking to the 2-hour mark or until internal temperature reaches 150°F.
- Slice and serve.
