Bacon-Wrapped Li'l Smokies

My Venture into Evil Cuisine
You should NOT make these. I beg you. They are evil! These things are like the LSD of fattening foods. Eat one and you'll be addicted for life. EVIL, I say!!!!

Whoever made the first recipe for those bacon-wrapped Li'l Smokies coated in brown sugar deserves a medal – or at least a wooden stake through their artery-clogged heart. The only problem I have with the original recipe, which uses only Li'l Smokies, bacon, and brown sugar, is that sometimes the brown sugar does not melt completely on top of the bacon. When eating them, you will occasionally bite into a Smokie that still has little crystals of unmelted brown sugar – and that bugs me. I then set out to perfect that nearly perfect recipe. After experimenting with several different coatings, I decided a simple glaze of brown sugar, maple syrup, and Dijon mustard made them absolutely irresistible. Maple syrup goes perfectly with the bacon and the Dijon mustard gives it a very subtle background note.

This recipe is not as bad as I make it out to be. After all, I only used 12 ounces of center-cut bacon instead of a full pound of the fattier stuff. Don’t listen!!! It's the Smokies talking! You can't trust them. They're EVIL! Immediately after baking and photographing these sinful things, I ate one or two, you know, just to make sure they turned out alright. Well, maybe it was three. OK, OK! It was FIVE! I couldn't stop so I had to throw them in the trash and sprinkle them with potting soil so I wouldn't be tempted to grab one out of the trash later on. They're EVIL, I tell you! When these were baking, I sat there looking at the stove like a hungry dog – eyes fixed on the oven door and ears perked up at attention.

You will absolutely HATE me if you try this recipe so I recommend that you leave this webpage as soon as possible. Now I need to go take an aspirin and cry myself to sleep. Wait. Before I do that, I wonder if I could brush off some of the potting soil on a couple of the… SEE!!! EVIL!!!

Enjoy – and happy resisting these lovely morsels!

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Bacon-Wrapped Li'l Smokies with Brown Sugar and Maple Glaze
(Printable Version)

1 lb Li'l Smokies
12 oz center-cut bacon

Glaze:
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup maple syrup ( the real stuff!)
1 TBSP Dijon mustard
Pinch of cayenne (optional)

I, personally, do not like to use toothpicks to keep the bacon attached to the smokies. If you prefer to use toothpicks, as many other similar recipes do, by all means do so.

Empty the Smokies onto some paper towels and blot them dry. Dry Smokies will allow the bacon to adhere better. Place the dried Smokies in a single layer (keeping them separated) onto a small cookie sheet. Place in the freezer for 45 minutes.

While the Smokies are in the freezer, cut the bacon into thirds. Separate each piece of bacon and place it on a large cookie sheet in a single layer. The well chilled Smokies and bacon will help to keep everything from getting too slippery when your wrap the Smokies later. Put the bacon in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

When it is nearly time to take the Smokies out of the freezer, preheat the oven to 350F. Line a rimmed sheet pan with heavy-duty aluminum foil. Make the glaze by whisking together the brown sugar, maple syrup, mustard, and cayenne (if using). Whisk the mixture well to ensure that the larger pieces of brown sugar have broken up.

Wrap a piece of bacon around each Smokie, pressing firmly on the final edge of the bacon to better ensure it does not spring open during baking. Try not to stretch the bacon when wrapping the sausages. Place the bacon-wrapped Smokies onto the foil-lined sheet pan, seam-side down. Continue with the rest of the bacon and Smokies. Using a spoon, put a little bit of the thick glaze on top of each bacon-wrapped Smokie – trying to coat each one evenly. You should have just enough glaze to do the entire batch.

Bake the Smokies for about 35 minutes or until they are lightly brown on top. Immediately transfer the Smokies to a serving plate or a slow cooker set on low to keep warm. These a very addictive. I apologize in advance.