Bacon-Wrapped Cheesy Meatballs

“I’ve made a bajillion meatballs in my career, ranging from Nonna’s classic Italian, Thanksgiving dinner meatballs, to even non-meat meatballs. But this meatball folks… THIS is the best smoked meatball I have ever, EVER made/eaten…”

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Recipe from thekitchenwhisperer.net
https://www.instagram.com/thekitchenwhisperer

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 1/2 pounds ground beef (80/20)
  • 1 teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce powder
  • 1 large egg
  • 3 teaspoons steak seasoning
  • 1 1/2 cups freshly shredded sharp cheddar cheese
  • 1/2 cup of milk
  • 2 tablespoons of butter, unsalted
  • 1/4 cup of Big Daddy Mac Mix
  • 2 slices of bread of fresh Italian sandwich bread
  • 8–10 strips of regular cut bacon, cut in half
  • 2–3 teaspoons fine meat rub seasoning
  • Dipping Sauce:Big Daddy Mac Mix Cheese sauce

INSTRUCTIONS

Make The Panade

  1. To a saucepan over medium heat, add the milk and butter.
  2. Once the butter melts, remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the Hoosier Hill Farm Big Daddy Mac Mix.
  3. Add in the bread pieces pressing down into the mixture. Stir until all of the bread pieces are coated.
  4. Set aside and allow to cool.

Meatballs

  1. To a bowl, add the beef, egg, steak seasoning, shredded cheese, and cooled panade mixture. Using your hands, gently mix to combine the meat. The mixture should be wet/soft but will hold a shape when you form them into meatballs. Scoop enough meat mixture to form a 2” round ball (I use a large cookie scoop to measure out my meatballs). Wet your hands and shape. Damp hands are a trick to keeping the mixture from sticking to your hands!
  2. Take 1 half strip of bacon and wrap it around the meatball. Do not make it tight/stretch it out; just wrap it so the edges overlap slightly. Take a toothpick and secure the bacon to the meatball. Place on a foil-lined rimmed baking pan. Place the meatballs into the fridge to chill for 1 hour.

Smoke To Perfection

  1. Preheat the smoker to 250F. Once the smoker is up to temp, remove the tray of cold meatballs from the fridge. Coat all sides with the fine meat rub seasoning place the tray of meatballs on a cooling rack and place it on the top rack of the smoker.
  2. Smoke for 45-60 minutes or until the internal temp is 155F. Remove the meatballs from the smoker and set aside. Increase the smoker temp to 350F and place the meatballs back into the smoker for the bacon to crisp up. Smoke until the internal temp is 165F.