- Jun 11, 2013
- 2,638
- 822
Well I was certain I posted this before years ago but I was unable to find it if I did….
Seeing as we are less than two weeks away from Fattie 2022 and it’ll be the first fattie contest we’ve held since 2019 (due to covid) I need to post this quick fattie lesson so when people ask me how to make them I can send them here instead of texting everything to dozens of people.
So here we go again….
FATTIE 101:
A fattie is ground meat stuffed with anything you’d like and then rolled into a log and wrapped in bacon. Pretty simple. You need a theme (breakfast, pizza, cheeseburger, etc..) and ingredient list based on that theme, and in the contests case the rules.
This happens to be a White Castle fattie entered by my friend Matt in 2017s contest.
The fattie contest rules are also simple.
1. You must use one pound of ground meat (any ground meat will do) no more than one pound no less than one pound.
We do this so all fatties cook within the same time frame as we cook them all on one smoker.
2. All fatties must be wrapped in some sort of bacon. It can be regular pork bacon, beef bacon, any kind of bacon you want.
Those are the only two hard rules for the annual fattie contest. We do strongly suggest if you are stuffing your fattie with meat (example would be sweet & sour chicken) that you cook that meat before you stuff your fattie with it to make sure it’s done when we pull the fatties.
So tutorial time here we go:
Roll out your one pound of ground meat (pork sausage in this case) in a one gallon ziplock bag. Seal the whole bag except one corner and use a rolling pin or a soup can to roll even and flat. When you are done cut one side of the bag off to get the meat sheet out.
I like to put it back in the fridge before I cut it outta the bag. Once it’s chilled again I like to cut it out and place it on wax paper to work with.
Next start stuffing your fattie based on your theme. Here is the start of. Pizza fattie sauced.
Sauce, cheese, and some peppers added to the fattie.
Pepperoni added.
Extra cheese. Remember to leave a border around the edge of the fattie.
Start your roll. We use the wax paper to help with the roll.
Another tip is to get your fattie stuffed as fast as you can when you pull it out of the fridge. The ground meat starts to get sticky and it makes everything harder.
Start rolling your stuffed meat log in your bacon weave or just strips of bacon. The outside bacon layer is really all about presentation in this contest. But sometimes a weave can hurt your as well in competition. With so many pieces touching each other in the weave a lot of times the underside of the bacon will not get done and it can hurt your on the taste score of the contest.
Here’s the finished pizza fattie wrapped in a bacon weave. Again one pound of ground meat shaped in a one gallon ziplock bag is the perfect size for a fattie.
Final tip is to wrap your fattie in clear wrap and twist it tight and let set up in the fridge for a few hours if not over night. This will really help tighten up you fattie and help it from falling apart on the smoker. Presentation is worth 5 points and the tighter your sliced the better your box will look!
Smoker loaded down with fatties that are ready to be boxed and entered into the contest back a few years ago.
Here’s an Italian fattie box I entered in the contest a few years ago.
So that’s the best way to describe making a fattie for this contest we are having in two weeks. I hope it helps people out.
Scott
Seeing as we are less than two weeks away from Fattie 2022 and it’ll be the first fattie contest we’ve held since 2019 (due to covid) I need to post this quick fattie lesson so when people ask me how to make them I can send them here instead of texting everything to dozens of people.
So here we go again….
FATTIE 101:
A fattie is ground meat stuffed with anything you’d like and then rolled into a log and wrapped in bacon. Pretty simple. You need a theme (breakfast, pizza, cheeseburger, etc..) and ingredient list based on that theme, and in the contests case the rules.
This happens to be a White Castle fattie entered by my friend Matt in 2017s contest.
The fattie contest rules are also simple.
1. You must use one pound of ground meat (any ground meat will do) no more than one pound no less than one pound.
We do this so all fatties cook within the same time frame as we cook them all on one smoker.
2. All fatties must be wrapped in some sort of bacon. It can be regular pork bacon, beef bacon, any kind of bacon you want.
Those are the only two hard rules for the annual fattie contest. We do strongly suggest if you are stuffing your fattie with meat (example would be sweet & sour chicken) that you cook that meat before you stuff your fattie with it to make sure it’s done when we pull the fatties.
So tutorial time here we go:
Roll out your one pound of ground meat (pork sausage in this case) in a one gallon ziplock bag. Seal the whole bag except one corner and use a rolling pin or a soup can to roll even and flat. When you are done cut one side of the bag off to get the meat sheet out.
I like to put it back in the fridge before I cut it outta the bag. Once it’s chilled again I like to cut it out and place it on wax paper to work with.
Next start stuffing your fattie based on your theme. Here is the start of. Pizza fattie sauced.
Sauce, cheese, and some peppers added to the fattie.
Pepperoni added.
Extra cheese. Remember to leave a border around the edge of the fattie.
Start your roll. We use the wax paper to help with the roll.
Another tip is to get your fattie stuffed as fast as you can when you pull it out of the fridge. The ground meat starts to get sticky and it makes everything harder.
Start rolling your stuffed meat log in your bacon weave or just strips of bacon. The outside bacon layer is really all about presentation in this contest. But sometimes a weave can hurt your as well in competition. With so many pieces touching each other in the weave a lot of times the underside of the bacon will not get done and it can hurt your on the taste score of the contest.
Here’s the finished pizza fattie wrapped in a bacon weave. Again one pound of ground meat shaped in a one gallon ziplock bag is the perfect size for a fattie.
Final tip is to wrap your fattie in clear wrap and twist it tight and let set up in the fridge for a few hours if not over night. This will really help tighten up you fattie and help it from falling apart on the smoker. Presentation is worth 5 points and the tighter your sliced the better your box will look!
Smoker loaded down with fatties that are ready to be boxed and entered into the contest back a few years ago.
Here’s an Italian fattie box I entered in the contest a few years ago.
So that’s the best way to describe making a fattie for this contest we are having in two weeks. I hope it helps people out.
Scott