This Iowa Smokehouse Is A Pilgrimage For Bacon Lovers
Just looking at these photos is enough to make your mouth water. Trust me, I had the same reaction.
And so does almost everyone who steps through the door for the first time. In Iowa, there’s a smokehouse that feels less like a restaurant and more like a sacred destination for bacon enthusiasts.
The aroma hits before you even reach your table, wrapping around you like a warm invitation you simply can’t refuse. Here, bacon isn’t just a side dish.
It’s practically the main character. Crispy, smoky, thick-cut, and packed with flavor, it appears in ways that would make any bacon lover question why they ever settled for ordinary breakfasts.
Whether you’re a devoted fan or just curious about the hype, one visit is usually enough to understand why people keep making the journey back. Some places serve bacon.
This place celebrates it.
The Bucket Of Bacon
Most dishes belong on a plate. The Bucket of Bacon belongs in its own category entirely.
Featuring ten hearty strips of Jethro’s hickory-smoked, thick-cut bacon, it arrives piled up like it came to take over the table.
You can order it regular or go full candied, which adds a sweet, caramelized glaze that makes every bite feel like a reward.
The bacon itself is slow-smoked in-house, which means it carries that deep, woodsy flavor you simply cannot fake. It is not the flimsy, pale stuff from a grocery store bag.
This is bacon that was clearly raised with ambition.
The candied version especially hits different, balancing smoky saltiness with just enough sweetness to keep you reaching back in.
This dish is the kind of appetizer that makes the main course feel optional. Order it as a starter, as a side, or honestly just as your entire meal if the mood is right.
No judgment here. The Bucket of Bacon is proof that sometimes the simplest concept, done with real craft and quality ingredients, becomes the thing everyone talks about on the drive home.
Where To Find This Smoky Bacon Paradise
Not every great restaurant is easy to stumble upon, but this one is absolutely worth seeking out. Jethro’s BBQ n’ Bacon Bacon sits at 1480 22nd Street in West Des Moines, Iowa 50266, right in the heart of a busy commercial stretch that makes it surprisingly accessible from all directions.
The location is part of what makes it a go-to spot for both locals and road-trippers cutting through the Midwest.
The hours shift depending on the day, so it is worth planning ahead. On weekdays, the doors open at 11 AM and close between 9 and 10 PM.
On weekends, things kick off earlier at 8 AM, which makes it a prime destination for a hearty Saturday or Sunday morning spread. That earlier opening is no accident, because this is the only Jethro’s location in Iowa that serves breakfast all day long.
Getting here is straightforward, and the parking situation is relaxed enough that you will not spend half your appetite circling the lot.
Once you walk through the door, the smell of smoked meat will do the rest of the convincing for you. Some places make you work for the experience, and this one simply hands it to you the moment you arrive.
The Jethro Sandwich Is A Two-Pound Legend
The Food Network noticed it, and once you see it in person, you will understand exactly why. The Jethro sandwich is a towering, nearly two-pound construction that reads like a love letter to pork in all its forms.
Breaded and fried pork tenderloin sits at the base, layered with pulled pork, smoked ham, and thick slabs of hickory-smoked bacon, all finished with an aged white cheddar cheese sauce that ties everything together.
Every component of this sandwich earns its place.
The tenderloin brings crunch and heartiness. The pulled pork adds that slow-cooked tenderness that only comes from real smoking time.
The smoked ham contributes depth, and the bacon delivers that signature punch that this restaurant was literally built around. The cheese sauce is the finishing touch that transforms it from impressive to unforgettable.
Eating this sandwich is a commitment, and one you will not regret. Most people cannot finish it in one sitting, which means the leftovers become a whole second event to look forward to.
It is the kind of meal that earns its own story, the one you tell your friends when explaining why you drove to West Des Moines on a random Tuesday afternoon.
All-Day Breakfast That Hits Different At Any Hour
Breakfast food has a magical quality that transcends time zones and hunger levels. At Jethro’s Bacon Bacon, that magic is available from the moment the doors open until closing time, which is a genuinely rare and wonderful thing.
The all-day breakfast menu is exclusive to this location, making it a unique destination within the entire Jethro’s family of restaurants.
The biscuits with bacon gravy and eggs is one of the standout dishes, arriving on a plate reportedly the size of a medium pizza. That is not an exaggeration meant to impress you, that is just what happens when a smokehouse takes breakfast seriously.
The bacon gravy is rich, smoky, and deeply satisfying in a way that makes morning food feel like a full event rather than a routine.
The Triple Bacon Bacon omelet is another breakfast highlight, and the name alone tells you it was created by someone who had a very clear vision.
Breakfast at a smokehouse is a different animal entirely. You are not just getting eggs and toast, you are getting slow-smoked flavor woven into every component on the plate.
Morning, noon, or night, this menu delivers with complete confidence.
Award-Winning Wings That Have Held The Title For 15 Years
Fifteen consecutive years of being named the best wings in Des Moines is not luck, it is a system. Jethro’s wings have built a reputation that goes well beyond the smokehouse crowd and pulls in people who do not even consider themselves BBQ fans.
Once you try them, the loyalty makes total sense. These wings are treated with the same care and craft as everything else coming out of the kitchen.
The boneless wings deserve a special mention here. Rather than the typical compressed chicken nugget style, these are cut into strips and crisped to a satisfying finish.
The result is something with real texture and bite, not a rubbery imitation.
Popular sauce options like Garlic Parmesan and Buffalo complement the crispy exterior without overwhelming the natural flavor of the chicken.
For the bone-in crowd, the BBQ Rub option is widely regarded as the move. The seasoning creates a dry, flavorful crust that lets the smoke do the talking.
Fifteen years of winning a regional title means thousands of plates have gone out and thousands of people have come back for more. At some point, that stops being a streak and starts being a standard.
Slow-Smoked Meats That Take Time And Taste Like It
Real BBQ does not happen fast, and Jethro’s has never pretended otherwise. Every location in the Jethro’s family runs its own on-site smoker, and the Bacon Bacon location is no exception.
That commitment to in-house smoking means every cut of meat carries authentic flavor that only comes from time, temperature, and patience. No shortcuts, no imitation smoke flavor, just the real thing.
The brisket is a consistent crowd-pleaser, with a smoke ring that signals proper technique and a tenderness that rewards every bite.
The pulled pork is equally impressive, carrying that slow-cooked softness that pulls apart effortlessly and soaks up the house-recipe sauces with enthusiasm. Ribs arrive meaty and satisfying, the kind that make you forget you were planning to save room for dessert.
Burnt ends, smoked ham, and two-meat platters round out a menu that gives serious BBQ enthusiasts plenty of reasons to stay awhile. Jethro’s is also recognized as the largest independent purchaser of pork in Iowa, sourcing locally and keeping quality at the forefront.
When a restaurant buys that much pork and still smokes every cut in-house, the results speak for themselves every single plate.
Scratch-Made Sides That Are Anything But An Afterthought
At a lot of BBQ spots, the sides are just filler. They show up on the plate, they take up space, and nobody talks about them afterward.
Jethro’s took a very different approach.
The scratch-made sides here are built with the same intention as the main dishes, and a few of them have developed their own fan base entirely separate from the smoked meats.
The jalapeno corn is the one that keeps coming up in conversation, and for good reason. It delivers a smoky, slightly spicy sweetness that pairs with just about everything on the menu.
The baked beans carry a deep smokiness that makes them feel like a dish in their own right rather than a background player. Coleslaw, hashbrowns, and sweet potato fries round out a lineup that handles variety well.
House-recipe sauces are also part of what makes sides shine here. Having a genuinely good sauce to layer over your beans or dip your fries into elevates the whole meal.
Good sides are the difference between a restaurant you visit once and one you return to regularly.
Jethro’s clearly understands that, and the scratch-made approach makes all the difference when you are deciding where to spend your appetite.
A National Media Darling With Iowa Roots
Over 18 national television and media outlets have featured Jethro’s, and the list reads like a tour of every major American food and culture platform.
Man vs. Food, the Food Network, the Travel Channel, ESPN, Discovery Channel, Fox News, the Wall Street Journal, and the New York Times have all pointed their cameras and notebooks at this Iowa smokehouse. That kind of attention does not happen by accident.
What makes this coverage meaningful is that it happened organically. Nobody manufactured a viral moment or engineered a stunt.
The food and the experience simply kept drawing attention from people who knew what great BBQ looked like. Man vs. Food in particular introduced the restaurant to a national audience that was hungry for exactly what Jethro’s was serving.
Being “World Famous” while staying rooted in Iowa is a balance that Jethro’s manages with a lot of natural confidence. The restaurant has even catered a presidential backyard BBQ in Des Moines, which is the kind of resume line that most restaurants never come close to achieving.
National fame did not change the core of what makes this place work. It just made sure more people knew where to find it.
This Place Deserves A Spot On Your Food Bucket List
Some restaurants are fine, some are good, and then there are the ones that become a reference point for everything else you eat afterward.
Jethro’s Bacon Bacon has become that kind of benchmark for a lot of BBQ fans across the Midwest and beyond.
It is the place people drive out of their way for, plan road trips around, and recommend to anyone passing through Iowa with even a passing interest in great food.
The combination of an all-day breakfast menu, a bacon-themed concept, nationally recognized wings, slow-smoked meats, and scratch-made sides creates a dining experience that covers an extraordinary amount of ground.
There is something for everyone, but everything is built around the same core philosophy of doing it properly and doing it with real ingredients. Sourcing locally and smoking in-house are not just talking points here, they are the operating model.
Whether you are stopping in for a Bucket of Bacon before noon or settling in for a full two-pound Jethro sandwich at dinner, this place consistently delivers.
Great BBQ joints have a way of making you feel like you found something worth protecting.