Lunch: Bacon Explosion

Recipe by gumby101 A meaty sausage and bacon filling is rolled up in a bacon blanket. Kaboom!

Ingredients

2 pounds thick-cut bacon, divided
1 tablespoon barbeque spice rub, divided
2 pounds bulk pork sausage
1 cup finely shredded Cheddar cheese
2 green onions, thinly sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 (18 ounce) bottle barbeque sauce

Instructions

Preheat smoker to 225 to 250 degrees F (110 to 120 degrees C).
Reserve about 1/2 pound bacon for cooking. Lay 2 strips of the remaining bacon on a clean surface in an X. Alternate horizontal and vertical bacon strips, weaving them tightly in an over-and-under pattern to create a lattice pattern. Sprinkle woven bacon with 1 teaspoon barbeque rub.
Arrange reserved 1/2 pound of bacon in a large skillet and cook over medium-high heat, turning occasionally, until evenly browned, about 10 minutes. Drain the bacon slices on paper towels; crumble.
Place sausage in a large resealable plastic bag; do not close bag. Roll sausage out, still in the bag, to a square the same size as the woven bacon. Cut bag off the sausage and arrange sausage over bacon; discard bag. Sprinkle crumbled bacon, Cheddar cheese, green onions, and garlic over sausage. Pour about 3/4 bottle barbeque sauce over sausage and season with remaining barbeque rub.
Roll woven bacon tightly around sausage into a loaf.
Cook bacon-sausage loaf seam-side down in the preheated smoker for about 1 1/2 hours. Brush woven bacon with remaining barbeque sauce and continue to smoke until loaf is no longer pink in the center, about 30 minutes more. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read at least 165 degrees F (74 degrees C). Allow loaf to rest for 30 minutes before slicing.

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