Delicious Smoked Shotgun Shells

Smoked shotgun shells are hands down my favorite thing to throw on the smoker when I’m prepping for a tailgate. 

Not only does it go a long way, but it packs a flavor punch that everyone enjoys.  And let’s be honest, wrapping anything in bacon makes things delicious. 

This recipe was cooked on my Traeger Timberline XL. However, I often throw these on my Traeger Ranger while running off my truck bed generator at a tailgate.  Regardless of what you use to cook these, making sure to infuse some smoke flavor to take these to the next level. 

Why should you try this smoked shotgun shells recipe

• Early Prep: My favorite part of this recipe is that you prep it the night before, saving tons of time while you’re entertaining your friends and family. The early prep also allows you to skip a potential step of boiling the manicotti shells. By prepping the night before and wrapping the shells full of bacon, you soften the shell when you throw it on the smoker without boiling it.   

• Bacon is delicious: I mean, isn’t this obvious? Well, if it is not, bacon is an amazing food that creates a salty and savory element to any dish. In this recipe, bacon elevates ordinary ingredients to a new level of deliciousness. 

• Easy way to feed a crowd: As I said with the early prep, you can create as many of these as you’d like to easily feed a huge crowd.  Once more, you skip a ton of the running around the day of your event by having these in the fridge, seasoning and then throwing them on the smoker. 

Ingredients for Smoked Shotgun Shells

• 1 package of Manicotti shells:  These tubes of pasta are the perfect vessel for stuffing with delicious meats. 
• 1 lb 80/20 ground beef:  Some simple 80% lean ground beef with 20% fat is the perfect ratio of ground beef for this recipe, balancing healthy and tasty.
• 1 lb Sage Pork Sausage:  There are many options for ground sausage, but for this recipe I reach for some simple sage flavored pork sausage.
• 1 package of bacon: Bacon comes in many cuts, like center cut or thick cut, but for this recipe, the best option is simple regular bacon. It offers the longest strips and is thin enough to wrap and hold the shells easily.
• 1 tbsp Smoked Q Rock’s Boom Boom Spice Blend:  I use this Montreal Steak seasoning inspired option to flavor the ground beef and sausage filling.  The coriander, caraway and other herbs and spices elevate the filling to the next level.
• 2 tbsp Smoked Q Rock’s Honey Chipotle Spice Blend:  This honey forward spice also brings in some delicious smoky flavor from the chipotle seasoning and melts into the bacon to create a delectable sweet and salty mix.
• 2 tbsp Smoked Q Rock’s Bourbon BBQ Sauce:  This final element ties the dish together, bringing in that tangy, smoky flavor and finishing with some delicious sweetness that will surely please all ages.

Instructions for making Smoked Shotgun Shells

1. Mix ground meat: To get started, I placed the 80/20 ground beef and the sage ground sausage into a large bowl before adding Smoked Q Rock’s Boom Boom Spice Blend and mixing it together with my hands.

2. Stuff the shells: In this step, I keep it simple by rolling up my sleeves and stuffing all these shells by hand.  There are other recipes out there that suggest a piping bag, but really this step is not as difficult as it seems and the piping bag is just an extra step that I don’t find that I need.

3. Wrap with bacon: For this final prep step, it is important to wrap as much of the shell as possible. Since I don’t parboil the pasta, any exposed part will still be hard after smoking.   

4. Place in the fridge overnight: This step is the important one.  I have tried placing them in the fridge for varying times, but the best results have been from placing them in the fridge overnight to really soften up the pasta shells as the fat from the bacon sinks in. 

5. Bring smoker to temp: I’ve run this recipe at multiple temps, but I’ve found that running my Traeger Timberline XL at 300º slow cooks the filling and pasta, while keeping the bacon chewy yet crunchy. 

6. Season and smoke: As the smoker comes to temp, I place all the shells on baking racks before I apply a heavy dose of my Smoked Q Rock’s Honey Chipotle Spice Blend to all the shells wrapped in bacon.  Then I placed them on the smoker for 45 minutes, checking doneness by the look of the bacon.   

7. Apply sauce and set:  After 45 minutes, I basted on some Smoked Q Rock’s Bourbon BBQ Sauce and let them smoke for another 10-15 minutes to finish these off.

8. Cut to serve: After resting for 5-10 minutes, I slice them into thirds to serve. Enjoy!!!

Variations and Substitutions:

Alternate Rubs: This recipe is one that can take on many different rub options.  If I were to use another rub, some of my go-to options include:

• Meat Church Honey Hog
• Heath Riles Honey Chipotle
• Killer Hogs Steak Rub
• Heath Riles Sweet BBQ Sauce

Substitution or variation: I love this recipe because you can get as creative as you want with the filling.  Don’t hesitate to reach for the chorizo, or grab something exotic like venison or elk.  This recipe is only limited by your imagination. 

Tips and tricks for making this Smoked Shotgun Shells

Fridge overnight: I’ve covered this one already, but it is probably the most important step, so it bears repeating.  To get the pasta softened, I place the stuffed, wrapped shells in the fridge overnight, allowing the fat from the bacon to seep into the shells, thus softening them up. 

Keep the fat: Depending on the filling used, these can turn out dry, so I like to keep the filling high on fat and high on flavor.  This is why I stay with 80/20 ground beef, but also mix in pork sausage that is high in fat. 

Regular bacon: I like thick cut bacon as much as the next guy, but I’ve had issues with using it on this recipe.  So I make sure to stick with regular old bacon, as it is long enough to wrap the entire shell and also thin enough to manipulate it where you want it on the shell.