Had To Try A Fattie!

[jon foster]

Ok, I had to try a Fattie! Below is a quick picture log of the "experiment".

Cook time was right around 3 hours. Smoker temp was between 275 and 300 degrees. Internal temp shot from 150 degrees up to about 170 degrees in the last fifteen minutes while I wasn't paying attention but I don't think there was any harm done. I filled the wood box in the smoker two times during the process.

My overall impression is just so-so. When I first saw pictures and descriptions of these things I couldn't wait to try them. But this particular recipe was a bit heavy on the grease/sausage so it was a bit over powering but still the end results were very good. Just not something I would make every weekend. If I make this recipe again I'll use double the amount of cheese and Spinach (or maybe more).

So without further ado, pictures!

Jon.

 

[scarbelly]

Hey Jon looks like you got the whole family involved. Nice job. Sorry you were not happy with the end result.

 

[etcher1]

Good look'in fatty and q-view.

 

[aeroforce100]

Looks good! BTW Whatcha got brewing?????

 

[jon foster]

Scarbelly, I was happy with the end result. It was just a bit too much on the greasy sausage side. The next time we make it (and we will) I will be sure to add a lot more cheese and spinach to help balance out the amount of sausage. We also added a few extra strips of bacon on the inside of the weave to use up what was left from each package. It probably would have been a good idea to leave the 3-4 extra strips out. Oh well, next time I will know better.

Aeroforce100, that's a 6 gallon carboy of a first crush concord grape wine from the fall harvest. There is just under 6 gallons in that carboy right now. It is overdue for it's next racking. When it gets racked it will also get topped up with a sweetening syrup to make a nice after dinner wine. We break up most of our batches into smaller 5 or 6 gallon batches like this to make wines for different tastes...

Jon.

 

[pignit]

I love the fattie with the spinach. It will really wilt down when cooked so you can really stuff that thing full with it. I like to put feta cheese along with mozzarella and black olives in mine. I also like to mix the sausages. I will use a lean breakfast sausage mixed with italian and ground pork... almost thirds. Your probably right about the extra bacon... that's where a lot of the extra grease probably came from... it looks delicious. Great first time on putting it together and your weave.

 

[brohnson]

YUMMY!

 

[richoso1]

Thanks for sharing the great pics with us, nice looking dog too. wish I could get more of my family interested in smoking and not just eating. Stick around as it only gets netter my friend.

 

[jak757]

Awesoem looking fatties! Thanks for the Qview!

 

[jamminjimi]

I have to agree with you. That a pound of bacon and a pound of sausage. Add's up to to much grease. I made some with just burger, pepperoni and cheese. We thought they were much better. I wiil try burger and bacon here shortly. Of course I will report back to the group. No pics didn't happen. I'm learning the rules as I go.

Jim

 

[fireangel]

Looks great!! Thanks for the Q-view!!

 

[mballi3011]

Very nice there Jon. I also think it's nice that you get the whole family into the prep and the smoke to cause they are always gonna be ther for the eating. An some good eating they did too.

for you good Job.

 

[melindab]

wow that looks great! I wish I had seen the threads about using plastic wrap to tighten things up before I did mine this weekend. I love how every thread is something more to learn. Thanks so much for the pictures!
btw, the picture of your dog sitting patiently, possibly hoping something falls, is awesome!!

 

[jon foster]

Thanks for all the kudos.

The smoker is now sitting at the front of the garage so it can be setup and in operation within a minute or two.

I was looking at some pork loin Bassman made. Wow, does it ever look mouth watering! That may be the next thing in the smoker...

Thanks for the comments on Zeus. As soon as he smells fresh meat he's ready to eat! Actually, we have two German Shepherd's. Kommandant Zeus and Fraulein Isis. Isis is a jet black German Shepherd. They eat fresh food for their meals everyday too.

Jon.

 

[ellymae]

Hi Jon,
I am a fan of just putting in a plain chub with a little rub on it. It slices up great for breakfast sandwiches or just on come biscuits.
The only fatty I stuffed was italian sausage stuffed with spinach and mozzarella. I have never done the bacon weave - it just seems a little much to me. One thing I really like about smoking sausage is that most of the grease gets cooked out, and I am afraid that by wrapping it in bacon would negate that. Don't get me wrong - I love bacon, but both of them together just seems like overkil.
Good luck on your next one.

 

[jon foster]

Yep, just a bit much... We'll do them again but cut back on the bacon or add more cheese and spinach. I'm sure we'll also try a few other recipes from the Fattie area too.

Jon.