Shotgun Shells Recipe

I’m always looking for new, creative barbecue snacks that I can throw on the smoker for parties and get-togethers and when I saw these Smoked Shotgun Shells floating around social media, I knew I had to try them.

You stuff manicotti pasta with ground beef and cheese, then wrap the entire thing in bacon (because everything is better with bacon), then smoke them. For the finishing touch barbecue sauce is brushed over the top and you are left with a simple, but tasty, barbecue snack!

Yes! While this is a recipe for “smoked” shotgun shells, there is no reason you can’t cook these in the oven and just follow the time and temperature guidelines in the recipe below.

You’ll miss out on some smokey flavor, but since you are using barbecue sauce and rub, these will still have a lovely bbq taste.

You could also cook these in an air fryer, although I haven’t done it myself so you’ll have to experiment with cooking times.

Smoked Shotgun Shells

Manicotti tubes stuffed with ground beef and cheese, wrapped in bacon, brushed with bbq sauce and smoked, a simple but tasty barbecue snack.

Prep: 15min

Total: 495min

Serving Size: 1 serving

Nutrition Facts: Sodium 537 mg, Sugar 5 g, Fiber 1 g, Cholesterol 71 mg, calories 398 kcal, Trans Fat 1 g, Saturated Fat 12 g, Fat 30 g, Protein 17 g, Carbohydrate 13 g, servingSize 1 serving

Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 cup Monterrey Jack cheese (shredded)
• 2 tbsp barbecue brisket rub
• 10 Manicotti shells (uncooked)
• 20 slices bacon
• ½ cup barbecue sauce

Instruction:

1. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine the ground beef, cheese, and 1½ tablespoons of the barbecue rub. Mix with your hands until well-incorporated.
2. Lay out your uncooked manicotti shells and stuff each one full of the ground beef mixture
3. Once they are stuffed, wrap each manicotti shell in 2 slices of bacon and sprinkle the tops with the remaining barbecue rub.
4. Store in the fridge for 4 to 6 hours.
5. Preheat your smoker to 250°F.
6. Transfer the shotgun shells to a jerky tray or wire rack and place them on the smoker.
7. Let them smoke for 1½ hours, then increase the temperature on the smoker to 350°F.
8. Let them cook for another 10 minutes, then brush each one with barbecue sauce, and let them cook for another 10 minutes.
9. Serve immediately and enjoy!

Smoked Shotgun Shells – Cowboy Kent Rollins

Prep: 255min

Total: 335min

Yield: 14

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. ground beef (80/20)
• 4.5 ounces pork chorizo
• 3 tablespoons Kent Rollins’ Rib Rub (or your favorite BBQ seasoning)
• 1 tablespoon Kent Rollins’ Original Seasoning (or your favorite all-purpose blend seasoning)
• 1 small yellow onion (diced)
• 3 to 4 jalapenos (seeded and diced)
• 4 garlic cloves (minced)
• 1 cup cheddar cheese (shredded)
• 1 ½ cups Mozzarella cheese (shredded)
• 1 8 ounce box Manicotti shells, or 14 – 16 shells
• 14- 16 slices thick-cut bacon
• Kent Rollins’ Red River Mud BBQ Sauce (or your favorite BBQ Sauce, for glazing)

Instruction:

1. In a large bowl, add the ground beef, chorizo, Rib Rub, Original Seasoning, onion, jalapenos, garlic, cheddar cheese, and Mozzarella cheese. Mix well with your hands.
2. Stuff the Manicotti shells with the mixture and place on a wire rack. Wrap each shell with 1 slice of the bacon and place back on the wire rack. Sprinkle with additional Rib Rub, or seasoning of your choice.
3. Place the wire rack on a cookie sheet and set in the refrigerator for 4 to 6 hours.
4. Preheat the smoker to 275 degrees F. Add a few chunks of cherry or apple wood to the smoker. Remove the wire rack from the cookie sheet and place on the smoker and smoke for 1 hour.
5. Increase the temperature to 350 degrees F, and smoke for 10 minutes. Brush the shells with BBQ sauce and cook for an additional 10 minutes. Remove from the smoker and let cool slightly before serving.

Smoked Shotgun Shells

These delicious appetizers resemble a shotgun shell giving them their clever name. Manicotti shells are stuffed with ground sausage, and wrapped in bacon then smoked to perfection.

Prep: 30min

Total: 5h

Ingredients:

• 11 manicotti shells
• 1 lb ground sausage (hot or mild)
• 8 ounce block of cheddar cheese
• 1 lb bacon (thin sliced)
• 1 cup Jeff’s barbecue sauce
• 1/4 cup Jeff’s original rub

Instruction:

1. Press manicotti shell into ground sausage to fill about 1/3. Add a ½ inch square x 1-inch long piece of cheese into the shell then finish stuffing sausage into the rest of the shell.
2. Tightly wrap a single piece of bacon around the manicotti shell. It is best to stretch the bacon first so it is long enough to wrap and cover the entire shell. Place the wrapped shells onto a pan with a rack.
3. Brush barbecue sauce onto the top and sides of the bacon wrapped shell then apply a coating of Jeff’s original rub.
4. Place pan of stuffed, wrapped shells into fridge for 2 hours or even overnight to help the shells to soften a little. (Not absolutely necessary but improves the bite)
5. Set up smoker for cooking at 225°F using indirect heat. If your smoker uses a water pan, fill it up.
6. Place the pan of appetizers onto the smoker grate and let them smoke cook for 2 hours or until the bacon starts to get crisp. It is sometimes helpful to crank up the heat to 275 for an additional 30 minutes to get a better texture on the bacon.
7. Brush sauce onto the wrapped shells and let them caramelize in the heat for about 10 minutes before removing them from the smoker.
8. Serve immediately.

Smoked Shotgun Shells Recipe

Smoked shotgun shells are manicotti stuffed with sausage and cheese, wrapped in bacon, smoked, and topped with barbecue sauce. An amazing smoked appetizer.

Yield: 12

Serving Size: 1 serving

Nutrition Facts: calories 430 kcal, Carbohydrate 18 g, Protein 15 g, Fat 33 g, Saturated Fat 12 g, Trans Fat 0.05 g, Cholesterol 71 mg, Sodium 739 mg, Fiber 1 g, Sugar 5 g, unSaturated Fat 18 g, servingSize 1 serving

Ingredients:

• 1 lb Italian sausage
• 4 oz Mozzarella cheese
• 4 oz Cream cheese
• 2 tsp Barbecue rub
• 12 Manicotti shells
• 1 lb Bacon
• 1/2 cup Barbecue sauce
• 1/2 cup Barbecue rub

Instruction:

1. Set the cream cheese out until it’s room temperature. Shred the mozzarella cheese and set it aside until you’re ready to make the shotgun shells.
2. Combine sausage, cream cheese, mozzerella cheese, and 2 tsp of the rub in a large bowl.
3. Add the meat mixture to a disposable piping bag fitted with a large tip. Squeeze the pork mixture into the uncooked manicotti shells halfway.
4. Turn the pasta tube around and fill in the other half.
5. If you don’t have a piping bag, use any kitchen utensil that will fit, such as a mini spatula or spoon.
6. Wrap the stuffed shells with bacon. Make sure you cover the entire shell with the bacon. You want the slices of bacon to go to the ends of the shells.
7. Place the wrapped shells on a wire rack with a large sheet pan underneath. Apply a generous amount of your favorite rub. Make sure to cover it completely.
8. Allow to rest for four hours to overnight.
9. When you’re ready, set the smoker to 250 degrees Fahrenheit. Use your preferred choice of wood.
10. Place the shotgun shells far from the heat source and allow them to smoke for one hour.
11. After the first 30 minutes, turn the shells to guarantee even cooking.
12. After an hour of smoke, turn the heat up to 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 15 minutes to crisp up the bacon.
13. Once the bacon has crisped up enough for your liking, apply your favorite barbeque sauce and continue to cook at 350 for about 15 minutes.
14. Once done, remove the shotgun shells from the smoker and allow them to rest, setting up the sauce for about 5 minutes.
15. Serve whole or cut into medallions.

Smoked Shotgun Shells

FAQ

How to make shotgun shells in the oven?

How long does shotgun shells take to smoke?

How long do you cook shotgun shells for?

What can I make with used shotgun shells?

• By Jenna Edde, Wide Open Country. Instead of throwing away your shotgun shells after a day of clay shooting or hunting, save them to use for one of these awesome, country inspired crafts.
• Shotgun Shell Toothbrush Holder.
• Rings.
• Boutonnières.
• Garden Lights.
• Coasters.
• Candles.
• Cufflinks.