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Two fingers holding a stuffed pasta shotgun shell up close showing the meat filling.
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Smoked Shotgun Shells

Pasta stuffed with sausage, cheese, and hot peppers smoked and then smothered in BBQ sauce. Absolute Perfection!
Course Appetizer
Cuisine American
Type Smoked Side Dishes
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Total Time 2 hours
Servings 12
Calories 646kcal
Author Will
Cost $12

Equipment

Ingredients

  • 12-16 each manicotti shells
  • 2 lbs jimmy dean sausage Hot
  • 8 oz cheddar cheese Shredded
  • 2 lbs bacon Thin cut
  • 1 each red bell pepper Chopped
  • 1 each jalapeno Chopped
  • 1 each serrano pepper Chopped
  • ½ cup barbecue sauce Sweet

Instructions

  • Bring a large pot of water to boiling and add manicotti shells. Boil for 4 minutes then remove and place shells directly into a bowl of ice water to stop the pasta from cooking further.
  • While pasta is in water bath, mix the sausage, cheese, bell pepper, jalapeño, & Serrano pepper together in a separate bowl.
  • Remove pasta from water and pat dry with paper towels. Stuff the shells with the sausage mixture by hand. Using your fingers and starting at one side of the pasta shell, stuff it ½ full with sausage filling. Now starting from the other end, fill the remaining half of the shell with more stuffing being careful to not break the pasta shell.
  • Once stuffed, wrap 2 pieces of bacon around each manicotti shell using toothpicks to keep bacon in place.
  • Place stuffed shells directly on grill rack of a smoker that has been pre-heated to 270°F. Smoke until an internal temperature of 155°F, about 1.5 hours. No need to rotate shells on grill when smoking.
  • Once 155°F IT is reached, baste a sweet BBQ sauce on both sides of the stuffed shotgun shells and continue to smoke 10 minutes longer until an IT of 160°F is reached and barbecue sauce is adhered to shells.
  • Remove from smoker and place on serving platter. Remove toothpicks and cut shells in ½ for a perfect party finger food sized appetizer. Enjoy!
  • Please rate and leave a comment if you made these. Thanks!

Notes

  • Cook to internal temperature, not a specific time. This will prevent overcooking and having 'burnt' ends of the pasta.
  • Use a sweet BBQ sauce to compliment the spicy peppers in the pasta filling.
  • Thin cut bacon will cook better and is better to use over thick cut bacon.
  • Par boil the pasta for 4 minutes before stuffing, otherwise the pasta will be undercooked.

Nutrition

Calories: 646kcal | Carbohydrates: 7g | Protein: 26g | Fat: 57g | Saturated Fat: 20g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 8g | Monounsaturated Fat: 24g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 123mg | Sodium: 1228mg | Potassium: 382mg | Fiber: 0.1g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 305IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 148mg | Iron: 1mg