Jen’s Smokin’ Fatties! Superbowl Gameday Food. Fajita, Potsticker, and Antipasto.

I love smoking fatties. They look really cool, even though they couldn’t be easier. They’re quick to assemble. Everyone loves them. And they smoke in just a few hours. So they’re the perfect easy breezy party food. Get ready to be a Superbowl hero! Here are a few of my fatties to try. Each one serves 8 petite humans or 4 really hungry adults. They definitely only serve 4 teenagers.

If you love them, come find me again! :D

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Let’s start out with the bacon weaving. It’s the same for all of them.

13 slices of bacon
Place six slices in a row on a piece of parchment. Weave the other pieces through those. And you thought your paper weaving skills from elementary school would go unused! Cut that last slice in half to wrap around the two ends of the fatty, if needed. If your pack has 12 slices, and you don’t keep extra open packs of bacon in your house, just stretch the ends to close it up and make 12 work.

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Jen’s Antipasto Fatty

13 slices of bacon
Weave that bacon!

1 pound Italian sausage
3 cloves garlic, minced
Mix well, and slide into a one gallon Ziploc bag. Press with your hands or roll with a rolling pin to evenly distribute it. Cut the sides of the bag open, but leave everything there.

4 slices hard salami
10 pieces pepperoni
4 slices provolone
¼ cup jarred, roasted red peppers, patted dry and sliced
¼ cup jarred pepperoncini peppers, patted dry and sliced
¼ cup jarred artichoke hearts, patted dry and sliced
¼ cup Kalamata olives, pitted and halved
Make a horizontal stripe of each ingredient over the sausage, leaving one inch of the sausage uncovered all the way around. Roll it up, with the help of the Ziploc bag, like a jelly roll. Gently pinch the end to the roll to seal, and carefully move it to the center of the bacon.

Wrap those two bacon half slices around the ends. Roll the woven bacon up to cover it, using the parchment to help you, tucking the ends in as you go. Smoke your fatty at about 250°F. until an internal temp thermometer registers 160°F.

I use two thermometer probes. The one in back is tracking the temperature of the smoker at the level the meat is smoking at. The second thermometer probe is inserted into the very center of the fatty to track its temperature. I love this thermometer. He’s a nice value play at $60, and comes with 2 probes and a grill grate clip. It has meat settings and doneness levels pre-programmed, so you’re set even if you don’t have your temps memorized. I wish it was Wi-Fi, but it’s not. ThermoPro TP20 Wireless Remote Digital Cooking Food Meat Thermometer with Dual Probe for Smoker Grill BBQ Thermometer

Remove from smoker, cover in foil, and let rest for 15-30 minutes. If you need a meat slicing knife, this one’s amazing. It’s insanely thin and sharp, and slices effortlessly, without dragging or tearing at all. And it’s a total value play at under $40! Mercer Culinary Millennia 14-Inch Granton-Edge Slicer Knife

I love to serve this with a green salad with a red wine vinaigrette with a little parmesan added.
Jen’s Italian Green Salad
2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon pepper
Whisk together.
6 Tablespoons olive oil
Slowly drizzle in while whisking.
1 Tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon grated parmesan
Whisk in.

2 romaine hearts, washed, dried, and roughly chopped into bite size pieces
Toss with the dressing.

Strawberries, grapes, and oranges are lovely with this, too.

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Jen’s Fajita Fatty

1 Tablespoon olive oil
1/2 medium yellow onion, sliced from pole to pole
1 red pepper, sliced
1 green pepper, sliced
Heat the olive oil over medium in a cast iron or nonstick skillet. Add the peppers and onions and stir til softening and taking on a bit of color, about 10 minutes. Remove them from the pan and let cool completely.

13 slices of bacon
Weave that bacon!

1 pound ground beef (80% lean)
2 Tablespoons fajita seasoning – I use Penzey’s
1 Tablespoon lime juice
Mix together and slide into a one gallon Ziploc bag. Press to evenly distribute it. Use your hands or a rolling pin. Cut the sides of the bag open, but leave everything there.

1 cup Monterey jack cheese
Spread the onion and pepper mixture over the beef, leaving one inch of the beef uncovered all the way around. Sprinkle the cheese on top. Roll it up, using the Ziploc bag to help you, slightly overlapping the ends. Gently pinch the seams together to seal, and carefully move it to the center of the bacon.

Wrap those two bacon half slices around the ends. Roll the woven bacon up to cover it, using the parchment to help you, tucking the ends in as you go. Smoke your fatty at about 250°F. until an internal temp thermometer registers 160°F.

Remove from smoker, cover in foil, and let rest for 15 minutes to an hour. One of my kids called to pick her up, so mine rested a full hour. Still warm and the cheese had better behavior. 🙂

Garnish…
2 avocados, sliced
Pico de gallo (just equal amounts of tomato, onion, and cilantro with a squeeze of lime, and a sprinkle of salt and pepper)
Lime Wedges – I never remember them til after I snap a pic 😉

I love to serve this with fruit salad. Pineapple, mango, and strawberries are perfection.

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Jen’s Potsticker Fatty

13 slices of bacon
Weave that bacon!

1 pound ground pork (not lean!)
½ pound shredded cabbage – I love the coleslaw mix with the carrots for the cute orange flecks
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 ½ Tablespoons freshly grated ginger
2 Tablespoons sesame oil
1 Tablespoon soy sauce
1 Tablespoon Shaoxing wine
Mix together and slide into a one gallon Ziploc bag. Press to evenly distribute it. Use your hands or a rolling pin. Cut the sides of the bag open, but leave everything there.

1 ½ cups thinly sliced scallions
Spread the scallions over the pork, leaving one inch of the pork uncovered all the way around. Roll it up, with the help of the Ziploc bag, like a jelly roll. Gently pinch the end to the roll to seal, and carefully move it to the center of the bacon.

Wrap those two bacon half slices around the ends. Roll the woven bacon up to cover it, using the parchment to help you, tucking the ends in as you go. Smoke your fatty at about 250°F. until an internal temp thermometer registers 160°F. Remove from smoker, cover in foil, and let rest for 15 minutes to an hour.

Stir fried veggies
I love to serve this with stir-fried vegetables.
1 Tablespoon canola oil
1 Tablespoon butter
Heat large skillet or wok over high and add the fats.

1 zucchini, cut into bite-sized chunks
½ red onion, cut into bite-sized chunks
1 green pepper, cut into bite-sized chunks
½ pound green beans, trimmed and cut into thirds
1 carrot, peeled and sliced thinly on the diagonal
Add as soon as the butter melts, and cook, stirring and turning constantly for about 6 minutes.

2 Tablespoons Shaoxing wine
2 Tablespoons soy sauce
½ Tablespoon fish sauce
½ Tablespoon sugar
Stir together and add to the veggies, tossing as it bubbles and thickens up a bit. Serve.

Sliced nectarines and Mandarin oranges are lovely with this, too.

 

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Need music to go with your cooking sesh? If you’ve got XM Radio, turn to channel 24. BB King’s Bluesville is the best! Okay, that probably needs a disclaimer that that’s on more than any other station in my kitchen.

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#fatties #smokinfatties #bacon #superbowl #gameday

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