Bacon-wrapped little smokies are the snack you eat off a toothpick while the burgers cook: cocktail sausages wrapped in bacon, rolled in brown sugar and cooked until the bacon is crisp and the sugar is sticky. They cook on the cool side of any grill, so check your stadium's fuel rule in our stadium rules table before you pack charcoal or propane.
At the lot: Wrap them the night before and cook them in a foil pan on the cool side of the grill. Homegating: Bake them on a rack in the oven and serve them hot.
Home gear: a 9 × 13 in. foil pan, a wire rack that fits inside it, foil, a lidded container
30 MIN
At home, the night before
45 MIN
At the lot
12
Serves
Ingredients
Smokies
- 1 package (about 14 oz) cocktail smoked sausages, about 48
- 1 lb regular-cut bacon (about 16 slices), not thick-cut
Coating
- 1 cup packed light brown sugar
- ½ tsp chili powder or ¼ tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
Serve
- Toothpicks (about 50), plus extras for serving
Steps
At home
- Cut each bacon slice into thirds. Pat the smokies dry with paper towels.
- Wrap a piece of bacon around each smokie so the ends overlap, and push a toothpick through to hold it.
- Lay them in a lidded container in a single layer, or in layers with parchment between. Wash your hands and the board well, since the bacon is raw.
- Mix the brown sugar and chili powder in a zip-top bag. Refrigerate the smokies overnight, up to 1 day. Keep the sugar in the pantry.
At the lot
- Set up the grill for indirect heat at about 375°F. On charcoal, bank the coals on one side. On propane, light one side and leave the other off.
- Line the foil pan with foil and set the rack inside. Tip the smokies into the sugar bag a handful at a time, shake to coat and set them on the rack in a single layer, seam side down. Sprinkle any sugar left in the bag over the top.
- Set the pan on the cool side and close the lid. Cook for 35 to 45 minutes, until the bacon is crisp and browned all the way around with no soft, pale fat left, and the smokies read 165°F in the center.
- If the bacon still looks soft at that point, slide the pan toward the hot side for a few minutes and watch it closely, since the sugar burns fast.
- Let them sit for 5 minutes so the sugar firms up, then serve them from the pan with the clean tongs.
Pack for the lot
Lot notes
- Raw bacon rides low: keep the wrapped smokies sealed at the bottom of the cooler, below anything ready to eat. Here's how to pack a cooler.
- The rack matters: it lifts the smokies out of the fat so the bacon crisps instead of stewing. Without one, drain the pan halfway through. The smokies are already cooked; the bacon isn't, so cook until it's crisp all the way around.
- Grease: let the pan cool before you move it. Fold the foil over the fat, let it firm up and toss it in the trash, not on the ground.
Can you make bacon-wrapped little smokies ahead?
Yes. Wrap them the night before, up to 1 day ahead, and keep them covered in the fridge, then in the cooler. Roll them in the brown sugar right before they cook so the sugar doesn't turn to syrup in the container.
Can you bake them at home and bring them?
Yes. Bake them on the rack in a foil-lined pan at 375°F for 35 to 40 minutes, until the bacon is crisp. Carry them wrapped in foil and towels in an insulated bag, and warm them on the cool side of the grill at the lot.
How many bacon-wrapped little smokies for 20 people?
Plan on about 4 each, so about 80. Make 2 batches: 2 packages of smokies (about 96), 2 lb bacon and 2 cups brown sugar. Cook them in 2 pans, and put the second one on when the first is half gone.
Gear for this cook
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