Bacon Wrapped Smoked Shotgun Shells

 

I ran across this on YouTube.  

Bacon Wrapped Smoked Shotgun Shells.  Just the name envisions something that you know, will be extra ordinary.

This is a quick and easy BBQ appetizer that you can make in about an hour and a half.

Its just a few simple ingredients. Let's take a look at this BBQ Shotgun Shells recipe. 

Ingredients

Manicotti shells

2 pounds ground sausage

1 cup shredded cheese

1 package of thin sliced bacon

Your favorite BBQ rub

Your favorite BBQ sauce

Stuff you will need

Mixing bowl

Smoker or Charcoal BBQ

Piping bag - optional

Pam cooking spray - optional

Instant read meat thermometer

Directions

Mix the ground sausage with the cheese.

You can manually stuff the manicotti shells.  They are somewhat delicate and can break if handled roughly.  On the YouTube video, the guy showed how he would create a sausage roll and gently stuff 1/2 the shell, and then stuff from the opposite end.  One of the comments was to use a piping bag.

Once the shells are stuffed, wrap with the bacon.

Sprinkle your BBQ Rub over the shot gun shells.

You don't want to cook these over direct heat.  Otherwise, the bacon will burn.

Use Pam cooking spray on your smoker racks for easier clean up.

The fat rending off the cooked bacon will soften the manicotti shells.

Make sure the meat has reached, at least, 145F with your instant read meat thermometer.  Cooking at 300F, it should take about 45 minutes.

Slather your favorite BBQ sauce over the shot gun shells and cook for another 10 to 15 minutes, or until the BBQ sauce has caramelized.

These appetizers should be a hit at your next BBQ.

Between the bacon, BBQ rub, BBQ sauce, cheese, smoke, and sausage, it's going to be party central for your taste buds.

I believe these could be cooked in an oven.  But I would use a wire rack, sprayed with Pam, to elevate the shells out of the drippings.

Comments and suggestions are always welcome.