I’m always looking for new, creative barbecue snacks that I can throw on the smoker for game day 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, wrap the entire thing in bacon (because everything is better with bacon), and smoke it. For the finishing touch, barbecue sauce is brushed over the top, and you are left with a simple but tasty barbecue snack!
One reader, Natalie, commented: “I used sweet Italian turkey sausage instead of ground beef, but they still turned out great! My family has made them numerous times for different people, and everyone loves them. Follow the directions, and they turn out great! ★★★★★“
Another , Tobin, commented: “Used ground round and Italian sausage. Added one minced jalapeño and some dried oregano. I refrigerated for 2days covered then wrapped the bacon and refrigerated another day. They came out perfect in every way. ★★★★★“
Smoked Shotgun Shells are having a moment
This is hands down our most popular recipe of all time.
It has over 8.5 million views on TikTok and more than 1 million visits on our website. People keep coming back for it, and once you try it, you’ll know why.
Stuffed pasta tubes filled with seasoned ground beef and cheese, wrapped in bacon, and smoked until crispy. It’s easy to make in advance and perfect for game day, cookouts, or feeding a hungry crowd.
There are loads of ways for you to put your spin on this, like mixing in jalapeños for a kick, swapping in spicy sausage, or glazing with hot honey.
If you’re looking for a BBQ snack that always gets a big reaction, this is the one to try.
Can you make these without a smoker?
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.
The key to making sure the noodles are fully cooked
In other recipes, I’ve noticed complaints about the pasta still being hard at the end of the cook.
My technique for getting perfectly cooked pasta is to leave the stuffed shells in the fridge for 6-8 hours before smoking them. The moisture from the meat softens the pasta, which helps it cook while on the smoker.
If you are short on time, you can par-cook the shells for 1-2 minutes. Drain and allow to cool before stuffing.
How to Make Smoked Shotgun Shells
These are honestly pretty simple to make. The hardest part of the entire recipe is stuffing the ground beef into the manicotti pasta without breaking it.
I have noticed that some recipes opt to use either breakfast sausage or ground sausage, but I decided to use ground beef and season it myself so I could control the flavor profile.
1. The filling
All you need to do is to take a bowl and combine ground beef, Monterey jack cheese, and a little bit of your favorite barbecue rub.
For this recipe, I used the PS Seasoning Texas BBQ Rodeo Rub, which is a rub that is intended for brisket. Here are some other great recipes for rubs you can whip up right at home.
Feel free to experiment with different fillings, though! Here are a few ideas:
Recipe variation ideas
- Add diced jalapeño (fresh or pickled) to the meat mixture like we do in our Jalapeño Popper Shotgun Shells
- Use Italian sausage, breakfast sausage or chorizo instead of ground beef
- Use pepper jack or string cheese
- Use beef or turkey bacon to wrap
- Add fresh herbs to the meat mixture
2. Stuff and wrap
Once your beef and cheese mixture is well-incorporated, stuff it into dry, uncooked manicotti shells.
I found that putting little pieces in at a time was the easiest way to stuff them.
Stuff the shells as full as you can.
Once they are all stuffed, you’re just going to wrap each one in 2 slices of bacon. I used thick-cut bacon, but I honestly don’t think it will make much of a difference – so just use whatever bacon you have on hand.
When they’re all wrapped, sprinkle a little bit more of that barbecue rub over the top of each one.
3. Let them sit
I was concerned about the manicotti cooking all the way through on the smoker, so I decided to let them sit in the fridge for about 6 hours before smoking them.
This gives the moisture in the meat and bacon time to penetrate the pasta, so you won’t be left with crunchy pasta in the center of your shotgun shell.
If you are cooking for a crowd, you can prep these ahead of time and store them in the fridge for up to 3 days before cooking.
4. Fire Up the Smoker
When you’re ready to smoke your shotgun shells, just fire up your smoker to 250°F.
I smoked these on my Camp Chef Woodwind 24 smoker with Camp Chef Charwood pellets. They are a blend of charcoal and cherry wood.
Once your grill is preheated, lay the shotgun shells on a jerky tray or wire rack and place them on the grill. If you prefer to just put them directly on the grates, that is fine too.
Using a tray makes it easy to take on and off the grill and makes clean-up a breeze
You’re going to let them smoke for about 90 minutes, then kick up the temperature in your smoker to 350°F to crisp up that bacon. Let them cook at 350°F for another 10 minutes, then grab some barbecue sauce and a basting brush.
I used the PS Seasoning Bourbon Barrel whiskey BBQ sauce for this recipe. It’s a tangy sauce that is infused with barrel-aged bourbon and molasses. If you prefer to make your own barbecue sauce at home, here are BBQ Sauces You Can Make at Home.
Nearly there, but they look good enough now!
Once they are well-coated in that sauce, you will place them back on the grill for another 10 minutes to let the sauce set and firm up. By this time your bacon should be perfectly crispy.
The final step is to stack them up on a nice butcher block, and these shotgun shells are ready to enjoy!
Looking for more great appetizers?
Enjoy your delicious smoked shotgun shells! Please give this recipe a star rating below and let us know how it turned out. If you made any tweaks, share them in the comments so others can try your ideas too!”
Print
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.
Course Appetizer
Cuisine American
Prep Time 15 minutes minutes
Cook Time 2 hours hours
hours sitting 6 hours hours
Total Time 8 hours hours 15 minutes minutes
Servings 10
Calories 398kcal
- 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
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.
Lay out your uncooked manicotti shells and stuff each one full of the ground beef mixture
Once they are stuffed, wrap each manicotti shell in 2 slices of bacon and sprinkle the tops with the remaining barbecue rub.
Store in the fridge for 4 to 6 hours.
Preheat your smoker to 250°F.
Transfer the shotgun shells to a jerky tray or wire rack and place them on the smoker.
Let them smoke for 1½ hours, then increase the temperature on the smoker to 350°F.
Let them cook for another 10 minutes, then brush each one with barbecue sauce, and let them cook for another 10 minutes.
Serve immediately and enjoy!
Calories: 398kcal | Carbohydrates: 13g | Protein: 17g | Fat: 30g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 71mg | Sodium: 537mg | Potassium: 275mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 156IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 109mg | Iron: 2mg
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