3 Fatty Questions.... UPDATED with Q-View

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maloff28

Smoke Blower
Original poster
Mar 21, 2011
123
17
Orlando, Florida
Good morning all.  Going to do some fatty's today (first time).  Well actually bacon wrapped meatloaf stuffed with garlic mashed potatoes and peas.  Kind of an inside out TV dinner.

Here are the questions.

1) Bacon... thick or thin?

2) Bacon... smoked or not? 

3) Do you use water or any liquid in the pan?

Any advice, or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

Seth
 
Last edited:
Not a fattie expert here. But I will give you what I know.

It depends on how hot you going to smoke for the thickness of the bacon. If you go the low and slow I would go thin, if you go hotter side (275+) you can do thick. What I found was the bacon was still on the not crisp on the thick when I did my first ones. The next batch we used thin and it was better. We like crisp bacon here. The crisp bacon does make it more difficult to slice. We did a weave both times.

We used smoked bacon. I try to get a different smoked then what I am using to get a bit different flavor layer.

When you say water in the pan or not. I am assuming the pan in the smoker, not a pan to place the fattie in. I use a modified off set smoker, so I did not put a water pan in. I would say if you want some crispness to the bacon, I would not put water. But if you want to make a sauce from the drippings. I would place a pan under the fatties with some mirepoix in it and a can of diced tomatoes. This will smoke the vegetables a bit and save all the yummy drippings. When done and letting the fatties rest, place the mirepoix (1 cup onion, 1/2 cup carrot and 1/2 cup celery) in a pot with some beef stock (4 cups) and bring to a low boil. If you have a hand blender you can just purée everything in the pot. I will place mine in the sink when I do this, just in case it splashes. If you don't have a hand blender you can use a food processor or blender to do the same thing. Just be very careful when you turn them on and don't over fill them. I place a towel over them before turning on. I have had the lids not keep the very hot liquids in and make a mess. Luckily I was not burned. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. If you want a darker brown color you can add a bit of Kitchen Bouquet to it.

For a silky smooth sauce use the blender.
For a richer sauce add whole butter ( not margarine ) to it. Once you have done this do not put back on the heat. You will break the emulsion and get an oil slick on top.

Good luck and don't forget the Q-Views....
 
If your fatty is up to temp and your bacon isn't crisp you can always put it on a hit grill for a few minutes. I usually put mine under the broiler to crisp it. Have also heard of people taking a torch to it to finish it.


David
 
Wow.  That is a much better way to do it.  Thank you so much for sharing.

I will do it that way next time.  
 
The only thing I do different is I will put mine in the freezer for about an hour before I wrap with bacon. Then again after the bacon in the freezer for about an hour. This way they are set and easier to move around a bit. It is a trick we use when breading stuffed chicken breast, like chicken cordon blu....
 
Totally hooked!  As are the other 13 people that were at dinner last night!!  Next time, I will probably do all pork and roll it like jarjarchef suggested.  I was just in a bit of a hurry.

I also made an A&W root beer glaze to put on top.  It people seemed to really like that too.
 
Maloff morning... Fatty looks great...  Good job.. 
icon14.gif
 ... we kick up our meat loaf by adding a bit of horseradish... If you like HR on beef or sammies, give that a try....  Garlic smashed spuds are a favorite around here too.... 

Dave
 
Love the horseradish idea!  I like HR in potatoes as well.  Do you just mix it in with the meat?  Assuming you use ground HR not the sauce...
 
Love the horseradish idea!  I like HR in potatoes as well.  Do you just mix it in with the meat?  Assuming you use ground HR not the sauce...
Ground HR.... I grind HR from my garden.... store bought is good too.... Just mix it in with the meat...  Try 1 heaping Tbs / 2 # meatloaf I think is what bride does...  Different HR has different heat levels..... hard to figure....  Dave
 
That is a pretty straight forward all in one meal. Great idea and they look awesome. How about a recipe on the Root Beer Glaze...JJ
 
I kind of just made it up as i went along, but essentially, I took a 2 liter bottle of A&W and reduced it down with some shallot and garlic to probably about 2 cups.  Strained out the veg. and Finished with some butter and cream.  I think i'd leave out the butter next time and just go with the cream, but it was still really good.
 
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