Do you really need the bacon ?

[curious aardvark]

By now anyone reading my posts will have gathered I try and keep my fat intake fairly low (I plan on eating bbq for a very long time to come and heart attacks are no part of that plan :-). I make low fat content sausage meat and I try to avoid streaky bacon.

Looking around the forum it seems to me that most fatties are made with commercial high fat sausage and then wrapped in very high fat bacon - with high fat cheese as one of the main fillings (I suspect you can see where I'm going with this lol) -okay it'll taste great, but you might as well just mainline cholesterol.

I can see the bacon as a sort of coat to prevent the sausage meat crisping up and to hold it all in place. But is it actually necessary ?
Has anyone cooked fatties without the bacon - and if so how'd it turn out.

I'm planning on making some mini-fatties that ought to smoke in a couple of hours, haven't decided on a filling yet - looked at the meatloaf concept and decided I wanted a proper stuffed fatty - just smaller.
Sort of large scotch egg size - around 4-5 ounces of sausage meat per fatty.

I'd rather not use the bacon. I'll probably make a chopped (not ground) sausage meat with apple pulp concentrate in for succulence, that should hold together really well.

I suspect that not overcooking will be the trick to keeping these things the right consistency once cooked.

Just curious if anyone had tried this before and with what results ?

 

[richtee]

You wanting to make a "Skinny" there? ;{) No, you don't HAVE to have the bacon, but bacon makes everything better yanno! Good luck, and don't forget the Q-view- as I'm sure others will be curious too Aardvark ;{)

 

[ron50]

I share your concerns. I have made many fatties and none of them had any bacon on them.

I use a mix of hot italian turkey sausage meat and ground turkey; about 40% sausage 60% ground turkey.

My favorite fillings are low fat as well. Try a mix of sauteed onions, green apple and mushrooms. Then I add part skim mozarella and 2% cheddar cheeses.

On top in place of the bacon I use marinated roasted peppers. As the mositure renders from the peppers during the smoke; it bastes the fatty and keeps it moist.

Smoking doesn't have to be high fat and not everything has to be covered, wrapped and smothered with bacon.

Just my opinion.

 

[chef_boy812]

stop!!! you are all hurtin' my feelings, BAcon is the greatest food in the world. It is so good that it has been banned in many world religions for to much delisciousness!

I am a bacon fan but I still ove ya!!!

Have you tried turkey bacon on your fatties, wellshire farms over here is an organic one, that is nice big bits of turkey held together with cologin. When it gets crispy it actually really tastes pretty close to bacon. oh and there is no nitrates, Hey if your going healthy, might as well go all the way.

good luck,my brother from another mother-land

 

[wutang]

I have also done fatties without bacon. Mainly because it didn't match the other ingredients. I did a lasagna fattie with Italian sausage, stuffed with mozzerella & ricotta cheese, pre-cooked lasagna noodles and pasta sauce. Bacon just didn't seem right on that and it still came out great. I am sure a low fat version could be made using turkey sausage and part skim cheeses.

 

[vlap]

I haven't made any of my fatties with bacon. That goes on my abt's!!!

In other words yes you can make it without the bacon without any detrimental effects.

 

[brandsbay]

a low fat smoke

Whats next alcahol free Guinness

 

[krusher]

I have only used the bacon one time, I usually take and brush some sort of oil, or sauce on the outside to keep from drying to bad. I used 93-7 % beef one time and it was not very good, it dried out too much for my liking. I am going to make one with ground chicken and see how it is.

 

[richoso1]

I've made most of my FATTIES w/out the bacon and they turned out great. Take advantage of what you can stuff it with, this will give you more control of fat content.

 

[rwc565]

hey, they aint called FATTY'S for nothing...use the bacon!!!!

 

[okie joe]

I have made many as Richtee called " Skinnys" . Low fat low salt..think turkey, chicken breast,ground no skin, like a meat loaf.... but no tofu....LOL You dont have to use bacon.....But BACON is meat CANDY...

 

[teeotee]

I have never done a fatty wrapped in bacon and they have always turned out good. Stuffed a few pork loins and wrapped them with bacon.

I have done some mini fatties by wrapping some cheese snack sticks with italian sausage. They came out pretty good. Kinda like a fatty hot dog.

 

[curious aardvark]

Hot damn I'm not the only one !
lol
But you don't have to go all cold turkey to be low fat :-) (I know, I know it's bad but had to be done)

Just Don't buy your sausage meat. Make it.
I've used all sorts of meat from pork to venison for sausage meat - all low fat, all succulent. Oats definitely seem help texture wise as they bind all the moisture in the sausage meat and it just doesn't cook out. As a consequence your sausages don't shrink and taste way better than the high fat or commercial ones.
I've been making sausages for a number of years now and every single person who's had one rates them as the best sausages they've ever eaten. It's hard staying humble ;-)

Oh yeah did I also mention I'm into ethically reared meat as well ? So cheap turkey is so far out of the equation it's just not funny.
When I can afford it I buy outdoor reared pork. Failing that I stick to british pork. Given the cost of things at the moment - you do what you can.
I'd eat more beef and lamb - but the prices are beyond a joke at the moment. Eat as much wild meat as I can - you can't beat that for ethics :-)

My first batch of 8oz fatties were a resounding success.
I'm tempted to put some bacon on the inside. And I don't mean streaky bacon. Some decent smoked back bacon. Trimmed, maybe oinions and peppers. Hmm, have to make up a list of stuff for stuffings.

Saw a pasta stuffing just now - as I'm here on my own saturday It'd be as well to make the fatties an entire meal :-) lol
Let you all know what happens.

But at least some of us are trying to both keep the smoke flowing and the fat down :-)

Maybe we ought to form a club. You've already got the OTBS. How about :OWOA (Order of Wide Open Arteries)
What do you reckon ?