The Skinny on the Fattie 101

We have decided there are two types of people out there- those that smoke a fattie and those that don't know what the heck that means (note- we are talking about sausage here!)  Really, we were in the latter group until we started cooking some KCBS contests.  On the Memphis-style cooking side, not many people really talk about them that much.  Then, the infamous "bacon-explosion" happened and fatties became the big BBQ fad.  So, for those that still arent on the bandwagon, here's the skinny on the fattie.

 There are tons and tons of versions of Fatties.  They all revolve around three basic things however- 1.  A BBQ smoker, 2.  BBQ Rub (seasoning) and 3) Breakfast sausage.  The simplest version is just these three basic items- take your favorite sausage out of the casing leaving it in its' cylindrical shape.  Season the outside with your favorite BBQ rub, and place in a smoker at 250 for 1 to 1.5 hours.  At this point you can either brush it with sauce and let it cook on for 15 minutes, or just remove it and slice and serve with sauce for dipping. Simple, easy and a great appetizer.

Squished sausage in a gallon ziploc

First comes the sausage.  As we are pretty partial to sage, we like the Jimmy Dean Brand Extra-Sage, but any breakfast sausage will do.  We believe the fattie really comes into its own when you stuff it.  This is very easy to do with the help of a gallon ziploc bag.  After removing the plastic casing, put the sausage in the ziploc (don't seal it) and press it to flatten the sausage into a layer.  It should take up most of the bag.  Now take a knife or scissors and cut down the sides and bottom of the bag, removing half the bag.  Now, take your favorite ingredients and lay in the middle (don't go all the way to the sides).  Using the bag to help, start rolling the sausage around the fillings.  I usually do this jellyroll-style to add a little extra panache to our fattie (see, the joke here is you are trying to get any "panache" out of a rolled up sausage). 

When it is rolled up, seal the edges and the ends with your fingers.  If you don't, you WILL have cheese and other filling ingredients leaking out all over the cooker.  And an empty sausage, and nobody really wants that!

Beginning the roll!

We then sprinkle all sides pretty heavily with our Ultimate BBQ Rub, but you can use any BBQ type seasoning you would like.  Place in the smoker and you have a great appetizer in only an hour and a half!

We usually never do this as a stand alone product, but if we are cooking something else with a little extra room it makes a great treat.  Like we said earlier, feel free to brush with BBQ sauce.  We usually like it "dry", with some sauce on the side.

Don't hesitate to experiment with the stuffings either- just about anything will go well with a fatty.  We have tried a sauteed spinach/mushroom/parmesan stuffing, a jalapeno-queso stuffing, etc.  If you like it, the sausage really won't care what you put in there! 

We hope you liked our intro to a fattie.  Enjoy!