At Baconfest Chicago I met Mark, another finalist in the Nueske’s Amateur Bacon Cook-off.

Mark made his own bacon, then ground it with pork belly and stuffed the porky mixture into sausage casings to create the BLT Dog.  I am amazed that he takes the time to make his own bacon!

A Mathematician by trade (and a fellow Baconaholic for sure), Mark also writes a blog called From Belly to Bacon, to document his passion for creating cured and smoked meats.

I asked Mark how he makes the BLT Dog, and this is what he told me…

The recipe is about a 10 day process, but not too much involved.

First, make a slab of bacon. I outline the process here; Making Bacon at Home: The Ruhlman Way

Next, take 4 pounds of homemade bacon along with 1 pound fresh pork belly, and grind them in a meat grinder.  Add 2 tbsp coarsely crushed black peppercorns and a cup of ice cold maple syrup then stir to combine.

Finally, stuff into about 5 feet worth of casings.

For roasted tomatoes, take a pint of grape or cherry tomatoes, halve them and season with salt and pepper.

Next, break a few garlic cloves from a head, sprinkle some herbs and olive oil on the tomatoes and toss them into a 250 degree oven for a few hours. When roasted, store in olive oil.

For garlic aioli, mince one clove of garlic into an egg yolk. Slowly drizzle in one cup of olive oil in, whisking the entire time, until the aioli is opaque and thick. Season with salt and lemon juice.

Dress baby arugula with sherry vinegar, no oil

To prepare the sausages, combine plenty of water and sausages in a pot and bring to a simmer. Remove the pot from heat and leave sausages in the water until it has cooled. Then brown the sausages in a low skillet with maple syrup and bacon fat.

Place small amounts of garlic aioli on a pretzel roll. Then place a sausage on the roll. Top with tomatoes and arugula.

Wow, I wish that was in my belly right now!

I was able to sample the BLT Dog at Baconfest, and it was mighty tasty.  Full of bacon flavor, but not overbacony, with just the right amount of sweetness from the maple syrup. 

Thanks Mark for sharing your recipe, I’m looking forward to reading about more of your cured and smoked meat creations.  The Lamb Bacon looks pretty interesting…

Thanks for reading my blog.

Brad