Smoking my first fatty...

[cd80187]

Good afternoon everyone!  I'm hoping to smoke my first fatty this Sunday, and wanted some help with a couple things before I do it.... I'm thinking I will do a ground beef fatty stuffed with buffalo chicken and cheese (Up here in western new york, steak and buffalo chicken mixed is called a stinger) wrapped up in bacon.  Just reading on here, just had some questions...

To avoid the fatty falling apart (is this an issue when wrapped in bacon?), should I use something like bread crumbs or mix sausage in with the beef?

What temp is best for beef?  Should I go higher (250-275?) or stick with the tried and true 225?

Any other suggestions or ideas for filling?

 

[SmokinAl]

 
Good afternoon everyone!  I'm hoping to smoke my first fatty this Sunday, and wanted some help with a couple things before I do it.... I'm thinking I will do a ground beef fatty stuffed with buffalo chicken and cheese (Up here in western new york, steak and buffalo chicken mixed is called a stinger) wrapped up in bacon.  Just reading on here, just had some questions...

To avoid the fatty falling apart (is this an issue when wrapped in bacon?), should I use something like bread crumbs or mix sausage in with the beef?

What temp is best for beef?  Should I go higher (250-275?) or stick with the tried and true 225?

Any other suggestions or ideas for filling?

The bacon will keep the fattie together.

225 is fine. If you go higher it will get done too quick & you won't get much smoke on it.

For filling the sky is the limit.

We like hotdogs, bacon, Swiss cheese, & jalapeno's.

Al

 

[cd80187]

Thanks for the info!

 

[crankybuzzard]

If you mix the ground beef by hand until it's very sticky, it will also hold its shape much better due to the release of a protein called myosin.  This is a common practice when making sausage so that it not only binds well but it will also have a great texture when cooked.

 

[cd80187]

So I smoked the fatty today and was very pleased with how it turned out!  I used 80/20 ground beef, homemade chicken nuggets (The coating helps hold the sauce better), homemade chicken wing sauce, mozzarella and a little bit of cheddar cheese.  I smoked it using pecan wood (I've only used apple, so I want to start learning the flavors of other woods as well) for about 5 hours at 235, and it turned out great!  I'm attaching pictures to get people's feedback and if it looks like its supposed to.

20170114_175915.jpg

• cd80187
• Jan 15, 2017

Rolled it out using a ziploc bag

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• cd80187
• Jan 15, 2017

Added on some sliced mozzarella.  It helped hold in the wing sauce

20170114_181002.jpg

• cd80187
• Jan 15, 2017

Cut up the chicken nuggets and tossed them in the wing sauce instead of just pouring it on.  It gave it a nice even coating

20170114_181154.jpg

• cd80187
• Jan 15, 2017

Rolled it up

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• cd80187
• Jan 15, 2017

Using the saran wrap to make it nice and tight

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• cd80187
• Jan 15, 2017

Forgot to take apicture of the weave, but you can see it here.  The fatty was longer than the bacon, so I had to squeeze in the sides some of the fatty so it could fit

20170115_153227.jpg

• cd80187
• Jan 15, 2017

After the smoke!

20170115_154023.jpg

• cd80187
• Jan 15, 2017

And here you can see the inside!  Only changes I might make next time is to add some sorts of spices or rub to the beef to give it a little bit more flavor.  Let me know what people think!  And thank you to Silverwolf's tutorial for making this!

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/87031/rollin-a-fatty-my-version

 

[rogan]

That looks delicious. I wish my family loved hot sauce as much as I do. I like the lil chicken nugget idea.

 

[dakota joe]

Looks good! I need to try this! Thanks for sharing! !

 

[chilerelleno]

Looks great, nice fillings... Great job on smoking your first Fattie.

 

[sauced]

Great looking fatty!! Nice job

 

[ab canuck]

Looks great, That stuffing and wrap are wonderful. Will you do another 1? If so any changes that you would make? Stuffing,spices,smoke flavor?  Definitely want to try 1 of these.

 

[cd80187]

I actually smoked another one this past weekend.  The only things I might change is add some flavor to the beef (I added salt, pepper, and a little bit of minced onion just for a tiny bit of flavor).  I also used Oak wood, and it was definitely a slightly different flavor.  I actually preferred the oak over the pecan.  But for stuffing, I'm up for anything, I just have been using what I've got available in the fridge or freezer

 

[actech]

IMG_5439.JPG

• actech
• Jan 23, 2017

Cd what an idea. This is inside of my first fattie. Used Buffalo chicken strips I am now hooked on fatties. Might have to up the cholesterol meds. Lol

 

[SmokinAl]

Nice job on your first fattie!

It looks fantastic!

Al

 

[ab canuck]

IMG_5439.JPG

• actech
• Jan 23, 2017

Cd what an idea. This is inside of my first fattie. Used Buffalo chicken strips I am now hooked on fatties. Might have to up the cholesterol meds. Lol

Lolol So true on meds... That looks Good... My kids are buffalo chicken fraks and I was thinking of using that myself. I will now in 1 for sure.  

 

[cd80187]

Thats what the medications are for!  So we can do this kind of stuff (almost) guilt free.  I'm glad you liked the idea.  Yours looks delicious.   What kind of smoke did you use?

 

[actech]

Apple in tube and pecan in smoker box. I have 3 types of sausage planned for superbowl or I'd be doing a couple fatties