Everyone's had a meatball, but unless you've had smoked bacon wrapped meatballs, you're missing out. In this post, I'll share everything you need to know to make great homemade meatballs, but first, a quick story about meatballs...
One of the first times I used my smoker, I made meatballs. They turned out awful. In fact, awful might not even be the right word. What is worse than awful? That’s what those meatballs were. I thought I had followed the meatball recipe to a T, but unfortunately, they were too salty. Those meatballs were so salty that it would have been refreshing to drink water out of the Great Salt Lake after taking a bite of meatball.
Table of Contents
Recipe Rundown
| Prep Time: | 15 minutes |
| Smoke Time: | 1 hour (+30 Minutes at 350°) |
| Smoker Temperature: | 225° & 350° |
| Wood Pellets: | Blend, Hickory, or other |
| Servings: | 8 servings |
How to Make Smoked Meatballs AKA Moink Balls
I’ve learned a few things since then, and after that experience, I don’t mess up my salt ratios. I’ve made meatballs a few times since that awful dining experience, and today, I am going to share my favorite smoked meatball recipe with you.
These smoked bacon wrapped meatballs have great flavor, and as long as you follow the recipe, I’m certain your friends and family will love them. Smoked meatballs can be cooked as an appetizer, or you could serve the meatballs as the main course. If you want to get fancy, serve them on French bread and make meatball subs.
What You’ll Need to Make Smoked Bacon Wrapped Meatballs
This meatball recipe is simple and requires only a few ingredients. I’ve made these a few different ways, and my favorite combo of meat is a 50/50 ratio of ground beef and ground Italian sausage. I’ve also made this meatball recipe with regular pork sausage instead of Italian sausage, but I like the added flavor the Italian sausage provides.
I wanted to find a good meat combo that would allow me to forgo the usual addition of flour or breadcrumbs that is common in many meatball recipes. The fat content in the sausage helps hold everything together.
A pound of ground beef and a pound of sausage will be enough to make 8 meatballs. I also add a half tablespoon of paprika, a half tablespoon of kosher salt, and a quarter tablespoon of black pepper to the meat. Combine the meat and seasoning with your hands in a large bowl, and then set it off to the side.
How to Add Extra Flavor to Your Homemade Meatballs
We could just add an egg to the meat mixture, form some balls, and call it good, but that’s boring. This meatball recipe is not boring. We will also add 1 egg, some cheese, and jalapeños.
For the cheese filling, add some softened cream cheese and shredded cheddar to a bowl and mix until well combined.
Now, thinly slice two jalapenos. You can remove the seeds from the jalapenos if you’d like. I’ve tried this meatball recipe both ways, and I can tell you I appreciated the added heat the seeds brought. I’ll let you make the call but don’t say I didn’t warn you. While we are slicing, we might as well grab a pound of bacon and slice the bacon pieces in half. This meatball recipe isn't boring, remember?
Speaking of Bacon... check out my 5 favorite ways to cook bacon before you go.
Time to Make the Meatballs
When you’re done slicing and dicing all your ingredients, it’s time to form your meatballs. Lay a large piece of wax paper out, divide your meat mixture into eight equal-sized balls, and place them on the wax paper.
Once you’re done forming the balls, flatten them onto the wax paper. Flattening the balls makes it easy to add your jalapeno and cheese. Add a few slices of jalapeño and a scoop of the cheese mixture to each meat patty, and then pull up the sides of the meat and seal the top.
Bacon Makes Everything Better
After you've formed all the meatballs the last step is to wrap each meatball with a few slices of bacon. I like to wrap one slice and then wrap another perpendicular to your first piece to give full coverage.
Push a toothpick through the meatball and bacon to hold it all together. One side note here: don’t use colored toothpicks! The colored toothpicks will bleed into the meat, and I’m pretty sure you don’t want to eat dye.
Smoking the Meatballs
Now that all your meatballs are wrapped and ready, the last step is to transport them over to your grilling rack and put them in the smoker. Before you put the meatballs in the smoker, set your temp to 225 degrees. You’ll want to cook your meatballs at 225 degrees for about an hour.
After an hour, turn the heat up to 350 and cook until the bacon starts to crisp up. You want to cook these meatballs until the internal temp of each one is 160 degrees. I use a Thermapen Mk4 to check internal temperatures, and I love it. This grilling gadget is worth the investment!
When your meatballs are up to temp, remove them from the smoker and let them rest for about five minutes. This allows the cheese inside each meatball to settle down a little bit before you slice into them. If you slice right away, you could have a cheese explosion!
These bacon wrapped meatballs are delicious on their own, or you can dip them in your favorite barbecue sauce.
Stuffed meatballs are definitely not a new idea. I hope you like my take on them. If you’ve made stuffed meatballs before, I’d love to hear what you do differently! Let me know in the comments below.
Watch Me Make These Smoked Meatballs
Pro Tips:
- Do not use colored toothpicks as they will bleed into the bacon.
- Use kitchen shears or scissors to easily cut the entire bacon in half.
- Wear gloves while slicing jalapeños.
- Place a foil lined pan underneath the meatballs to catch drippings to help prevent flare ups.
Smoked Bacon Wrapped Stuffed Meatballs
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 pound italian sausage
- 1 tbsp Paprika
- ½ tbsp kosher salt
- ¼ tbsp black pepper
- 1 egg
- 4 oz. white cheddar cheese shredded
- 4 oz. cream cheese softened
- 2 jalapeno
- 1 lb bacon
Instructions
- Combine the meat, seasoning, and egg with your hands in a large bowl, and then set it off to the side.
- Add the shredded cheese and cream cheese to a bowl and mix until well combined.
- Thinly slice two jalapenos. You can remove the seeds from the jalapeños if you’d like.
- Slice the bacon slices in half.
- Lay a large piece of wax paper out and divide your meat mixture into eight equal sized balls and place them on the wax paper.
- Once you’re done forming the balls flatten them out onto the wax paper.
- Add a few slices of jalapenos and a scoop of cheese to each meat patty.
- Then carefully pull the meat up and around the filling and form back into a ball.
- Wrap two slices of bacon around each meatball and secure with a tooth pick.
- Transport the constructed meatballs over to your grilling rack and put them in the smoker.
- Cook your meatballs at 225 degrees for about an hour.
- After an hour, turn the heat up to 350 and cook until the bacon starts to crisp up.
- You want to cook these meatballs until the internal temp of each one is 160 degrees.
- When your meatballs are up to temp, remove them from the smoker, and let them rest for about five minutes.
I was wondering if these meatballs can be frozen after the resting period and reheated on the grill before serving’?