What is a moink ball? Well, it’s one part moo and one part oink and three parts delicious. Essentially, they are beef meatballs wrapped in bacon. Your guests will love these, so make plenty! If you are in a hurry, you can forego buying ground beef, breadcrumbs and eggs and buy premade frozen meatballs. One large bag will be plenty. You can also substitute about half a pound of the ground beef and add breakfast sausage or Italian sausage if you want a bit more kick to your appetizers.
BBQ Moink Balls Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 lbs. ground beef
- ¾ C fresh breadcrumbs
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tsp minced garlic
- 1 lb. slices of bacon, cut in half
- 1/3 C Grilla AP Rub
- 1 C Grilla BBQ Sauce
Directions
Combine ground beef, breadcrumbs, eggs and garlic in a big bowl. Mix together all ingredients with your hands and roll mixture into balls approximately 1 inch in diameter.
Wrap each meatball with half a strip of bacon, secure with a toothpick. You may also add several of these to a prepared skewer if you want to save some toothpicks. Coat generously with the rub. Heat your Grilla to about 275 degrees.
You can of course cook these at a lower temp if you have plenty of time, or at a higher temp if you need them done faster.
Cook until the meatballs are at an internal temp of 160 degrees and the bacon is done. If you opted to use store-bought meatballs, you are basically just cooking until the bacon is done.
During the last 10 minutes of cooking, coat the moink balls with your barbecue sauce. If you want your moink balls to have a sweeter finish, cut the barbecue sauce with a little grape jelly. Once you pull the moink balls off the grill, you can dust with the remaining dry rub.
A Brief History of BBQ Moink Balls
A few people on the Internet swear that they invented smoked moink balls. We cannot be sure which one really had the idea first, but we can say “Hats off!” to all of them because we love this recipe. Not only is it inventive, but it is downright indulgent. In fact, you can bet your bottom dollar that after you make moink balls in your smoker one time, you will have a go-to recipe for life.
Substitutes for the Meat in Moink Balls
Obviously, moink balls are traditionally made using beef and bacon. However, you can feel free to substitute as needed. As we mentioned before, some Grilla Grill smoker enthusiasts like to use sausage in the mix. Others prefer a meatloaf mixture that may include ground pork along with beef. And there is certainly nothing wrong with having a little ground turkey or chicken instead of beef. Not only will swapping beef for poultry change the flavor, but it may make the smoked moink balls a tad leaner.
Great Ingredients Make Great Smoked BBQ Moink Balls
We feel like we always say this, but it is worth repeating: Never cut corners on your ingredients for any recipe! Moink balls are no exception to this rule. In fact, if you want your moink balls to taste amazing at your next party or holiday get-together, look for bacon that is from the best part of the pig — not bacon that will shrivel and shrink after a few minutes.
Truly, taking the time to purchase ingredients conscientiously will have a tasty, positive effect on the finished product.
Feed a Crowd With Bacon-Wrapped Meatballs
The next time you are tasked with feeding a crowd at your home or even the office, remember that you have a Grilla Grill and a recipe for moink balls. With those two attributes, you can make everyone super-happy.
Kick those tired Swedish meatballs to the curb! Bacon-wrapped meatballs slow-cooked in a wood pellet smoker are the new kid on the block. Have fun experimenting with different sauces as you become the moink ball expert on the block.
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