Wednesday, September 16, 2009

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.

19 comments:

  1. ...and how was the potting soil topping?
    Melvena from the Quad

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  2. Vince, Vince, Vince....These wonderful little nuggets are awesome. My sister Lisa and I usually make them on Christmas Eve as part of the appetizer spread. We usually just lay the wrapped smokies in the pan and sprinkle the brown sugar over them, and then as they cook continue to baste them with the drippings/sugar. This eliminates the need for liquid...But your version sounds so yummy, too!

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  3. I am (obviously) very fond of bacon! These will definatley be the next appetizer I make for a party! I will have to keep my eyes peeled for minature smokies!
    (Have you tried the bacon wrapped jalapenos with the cream cheese from the pioneer woman? Those are super yummy too and I know I ate MORE than 5!!)

    Katie

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  4. Yes, I saw that recipe on Pioneer Woman! It took EVERY ounce of will power I have to not make those things. I could have eaten a truckload of those.

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  5. Do you put the bacon wrapped smokies directly on the baking sheet? Or do you put a cooling rack on the baking sheet and the smokies on the cooling rack to let the grease drip down while they bake? Which do you think would be better?

    Also, can you wrap these up in advance and then bake them off in the oven later? I am thinking of making these for a party on Sunday and would like to wrap them in bacon on Saturday and then glaze and bake them on Sunday. Would this work ok? Thanks!

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  6. I normally use a rack in the sheet pan (and spray it with cooking spray). That's my preferred method but putting them directly on the sheet pan works, too. I've never wrapped them in advance and baked them later but this should work just fine. In fact, the bacon would probably stay better adhereed to the smokie since it will get completely rechilled before baking. Good luck!

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  7. After trying these, I have decided I need to kiss you. Are you married? I am but I need to do what I need to do. lol

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  8. what do you think if I add cheese inside the sausage? will it taste just fine? lol

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  9. I think it would taste good but I think the cheese will leak everywhere when it melts. If you are going to try making these, I recommend that you try putting cheese in only a few of them so, in case it doesn't turn out well, you will not have ruined an entire batch. Try different kinds of cheese to see which works (and tastes) the best.

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  10. Thank you for your fast response! It's such an unfortunate that I just found out this blog of yours! Will try them out, and will tell you how it goes! :-)

    Thanks again!

    x

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  11. I love these!!!! Thank you so much for the heart attack in advance. :)

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  12. Get the Li'l Smokies that already have cheese in them. They're the best on their own, anyway. They could only get better wrapped in bacon and glazed!

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  13. I'm guessing that the oven is on 350F?

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  14. That's correct. The oven temperature is in the 4th paragraph of the recipe. You start preheating the oven to 350F when you take the Li'l Smokies out of the freezer. I made them at Christmas this year. They were a great hit!

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  15. Making them today for the Super bowl, thank you!!

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  16. THE BEST!!
    I have made these twice...once for tailgating and once for a party and if you want one you better eat it before you leave home! Too good to be this easy!

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  17. Can these be made entirely in the crockpot?

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  18. I've never made these in a crock pot before but I have seen similar recipes done in slow cookers. If you try it, let me know how it turns out.

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