Bacon Wrapped Smokies

Brown sugar bacon-wrapped smokies with flavorful BBQ rub. Just a few ingredients make absolutely delicious apps that will be a huge hit.

This great recipe will save you from hungry and excited friends and family members getting ready to watch sporting events or kids running around feeling snakish. You just need 4 ingredients, minimal prep time, and some patience for the oven to do the job.

When I think about little smokies, bacon comes to mind immediately and I start craving these tiny salty, savory treats. Gladly, they are available year round, so I can make it any time I want.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• Little smokies wrapped in bacon are always a big hit, it is like eating a meat candy for adults!
• My favorite appetizers for Super Bowl, game and movie nights, or any gathering that needs comforting finger food.
• Love pigs in a blanket? These are even better because we are not wasting precious space in the stomach on the dough!
• Super easy recipe even for a new cook: you don’t need to pre-cook the sausages or follow a complex baking process.

Ingredients Notes

• Bacon – Thin-cut bacon works best. Thick cut bacon will be harder to wrap around the sausages and will take much longer to cook and may not be crispy. You don’t need to precook bacon, we are going to wrap cold bacon around each little smokie and cook them together.
• Lil Smokies Sausages (Hillshire farms little smokies or similar, they can also be labelled as cocktails wieners. Beef is more popular, but pork works too, and there are smokies made of chicken too for lighter, leaner snack.
• Brown sugar. The original recipe uses brown sugar and I guarantee you it is a must have ingredient in the little smokies recipe. It will melt and caramelize the smokies.
• BBQ rub – any brand you prefer.

Kitchen Equipment

• (2) 8×8 or (1) 9×13 baking dish greased with cooking spray and line the dish with aluminum foil or parchment paper for easy clean-up.
• Toothpicks – if you have trouble keeping the bacon wrapped around the smokies.
• Cutting Board
• Sharp Knife
• Small bowl

How To Make Bacon-Wrapped Smokies With Brown Sugar

1: Wrap The Smokies

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Cut the bacon into thirds. Each slice should give you 3 pieces, but if you use center cut bacon it can be shorter than that.
3. Pat the smokies dry with a paper towel. Wrap each little smoked sausage with a piece of bacon. Place them on a plate or on the cutting board you used to slice the bacon.
4. Before doing so you can also lay them on the wire rack and place a sheet pan under the smokies to let all the excess water drip out.

2: Make The Rub

1. Combine the brown sugar and BBQ seasoning in a small bowl.
2. Roll each wrapped smokie in the brown sugar mixture to coat and then place them on the prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle brown sugar mixture if you have any left over the top of the smokies in the dish.

3: Bake The Smokies

1. Bake for 45 minutes or until the bacon is fully cooked to your desired crispiness. Make sure you have a crispy bacon layer on each side but don’t burn it.
2. Remove from the oven. Transfer to a serving platter and enjoy.

Storage

These bacon-wrapped little smokies can be stored in an airtight container for up to 4 days.

You can make bacon-wrapped smokies ahead of time without baking – 1-3 days ahead, store in the fridge in a container or baking pan covered with foil, and then you can bake them the next day or the day of. If you leave them in the fridge overnight, let them warm to the room temperature before baking.

Freezing. Bacon wrapped smokies freeze well. Let them cool completely and first freeze laid out on a baking sheet in one layer overnight. Then you can move them to a bag or container and store in the freezer for up to 3 months until ready to thaw and reheat.

Reheating. You can use the oven (10-20 min) or air fryer (5 min max) to reheat the smokies till they are hot.

Substitutions & Variations

• You can use your preferred bacon brand. The thinner cuts will cook faster and be easier to wrap around the smokies.
• The smokies and bacon will be salty, so the brown sugar mixture helps to cut that saltiness.
• You can use maple syrup with or instead of brown sugar. As a replacement it will have less sweetness.
• BBQ rub can be substituted for any spices mix you want: garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne pepper or chili powder (if you love heat), just black pepper, and so on.
• You can add a jalapeno and a cheese slice to each smokie! Will work great especially if you love jalapeno poppers.

Cooking Tips To Make The Best Brown Sugar Bacon Wrapped Smokies

• If the thin layer of bacon doesn’t stay in place, secure it with a toothpick. Toothpicks also make it easier to eat them without getting your fingers greasy.
• Cold bacon is much easier to wrap, so keep it in the fridge.
• Get some extra smokies, as often there will be some bacon left.
• You can make these lil smokies in your crock pot too. Follow the same instructions, but instead of baking, place them in the slow cooker and cook for a few hours (3 hours is usually enough). Slow cooker also helps a ton if you need to keep the sausages warm during the party – you can just keep at on warming up mode.
• Absolutely serve some amazing dips with these! From basic mustard to nice home-cooked cold or warm dips.

DON’T MISS THESE HOLIDAY E-BOOKS!

If you love this tasty appetizer recipe, you’re going to love these other snack recipes too. Please click each link below to find the easy, printable recipe!

More Great Sausage Recipes

Slow Cooker Sweet & Spicy Sausage

Smoked Little Smokies

Instant Pot BBQ Smokies

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