By Julie Kotzbach Published in 4th of July
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Easy Brown Sugar Bacon Wrapped Little Smokies are the perfect prep-ahead party bite! Slightly spicy with crispy bacon, you’ll want to make a double batch. They fly off the plate!
When it comes to parties, little smokies sausages are one of my food obsessions. They’re so poppable and easy to serve. And who doesn’t love food on a toothpick?!These bacon wrapped little smokies are sweet with a hint of spice that pairs beautifully with all that meaty goodness!
What are little smokies made of
There are a few different varieties of Lit’l Smokies out there. The original sausages are a mix of pork and beef. There are also all beef and turkey varieties.
Bacon Wrapped Little Smokies Ingredients
- Lit’l Smokes – You can use original or beef.
- Bacon – Skip thick-cut bacon for this recipe. We’re wrapping it up and you want the bacon to cook all the way through.
- Brown sugar – I prefer dark brown sugar for this recipe, but you can use light brown sugar instead if that’s what you have on hand.
- Ground cumin
- Chili powder
How to Cook Little Smokies
- Start by preheating your oven to 325 degrees F. Then get out a 9-inch x 13-inch baking dish and set it to the side for now.
- Next, stir together and brown sugar, cumin, and chili powder in a bowl. Set this aside while you prepare the sausages.
- To wrap the smokies, cut the bacon slices in half right down the center of the package. This will give you twice as many short slices.
- Then take one of the half pieces of bacon and wrap it around one little smokie. Secure the end of the bacon with a toothpick. Place the bacon-wrapped sausage into your baking dish. Continue to wrap sausages in bacon until you run out of one meat.
- Once the sausages are arranged in your baking dish, sprinkle the brown sugar mixture all over them. Use all the sugar, it’s a lot.
- After that, bake the sausages for 1 hour. If the brown sugar is not fully melted at the end of the hours (oven temps vary), turn your oven to 350 degrees F and let them cook a bit longer. Just keep an eye on things.
- Once they’re done, take your dish out of the oven and serve warm with the toothpicks still in for easy munching.
You can also serve the cooked lil’ smokies in a crock pot so they stay warm. Just add all the sausages to your slow cooker, pour in all brown sugar glaze in the baking dish, cover, and set the WARM. That’s it! Perfect for parties.
Do little smokies need to be cooked
These little sausages are actually fully cooked already. You can eat them straight out of the package. I think they taste better warmed up and in some kind of sauce, but you do you.
What do you eat with little smokies
Little smokies appetizers are great all by themselves, but you can turn your smokies into a pseudo-meal by serving them up with some…
- Baked Beans
- Hawaiian Coleslaw
- Potato Salad
- Corn on the Cob
I can’t begin to tell you how many times I’ve made this little smokies recipe. They’re just too good not to share!
We host Christmas Eve for the family every year and we have an appetizer potluck. (Appetizers are my favorite!) One year I made this recipe and my brother-in-law went off about them! So now I make them every year. Total crowd pleaser, friends!
Try some of my other party food favorites!
- Bourbon BBQ Little Smokies – my favorite crock pot little smokies recipe!
- Mom’s Famous Buffalo Chicken Dip
- Hawaiian Pizza Sliders
- More appetizer recipes…
Brown Sugar Bacon Wrapped Little Smokies
Julie Kotzbach
Easy Brown Sugar Bacon Wrapped Little Smokies are a perfect prep-ahead party bite! Be sure to make a double batch. They fly off the plate!
4.17 from 208 votes
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Prep Time 20 minutes mins
Cook Time 1 hour hr
Total Time 1 hour hr 20 minutes mins
Course Appetizer
Cuisine American
Servings 40
Calories 104 kcal
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- ¼ teaspoon chili powder
- 18 ounces bacon (1 1/2 packages)
- 14 ounces little smokies (1 package)
Instructions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
In a small bowl, stir together the brown sugar, cumin, and chili powder. Set aside.
Cut bacon strips in half, down the center of the package. You should have about 42 shorter strips of bacon.
Wrap one bacon piece around one smokie. Secure the end of the bacon with a toothpick. Place the sasusage in a 9-inch x 13-inch pan with the toothpick sticking up. Repeat with remaining bacon and little smokies.
Sprinkle the brown sugar mixture all over the little smokies. You want as much as you can get on the sausage, but it's fine if the extra sugar is in the bottom of the pan.
Bake for 1 hour. (see note) Remove from the oven. Transfer to a serving platter and serve immediately, leaving the toothpicks in so guests can grab the smokies easily.
Notes
- If your brown sugar isn't completely melted by the end of the cooking time, crank your oven to 350 degrees F and bake a little bit longer. Just keep an eye on things.
- To keep smokies warm on a buffet table, transfer to a slow cooker and pour the syrup from the pan all over the little smokies. Turn to WARM setting and keep the lid on.
Nutrition
Calories: 104kcalCarbohydrates: 6gProtein: 3gFat: 8gSaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 15mgSodium: 188mgPotassium: 50mgSugar: 5gVitamin A: 8IUCalcium: 6mgIron: 1mg
All nutritional information is based on third party calculations and is only an estimate. Each recipe and nutritional value will vary depending on the brands you use, measuring methods and portion sizes per household.
Keyword bacon wrapped little smokies, little smokies
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