Smoked Shotgun Shells

Let’s get a little crazy, shall we? What if the dish you take to your next BBQ is a little cheesy, a little smoky, covered in bacon, oozing sausage, and smells like heaven? Introducing: smoked shotgun shells, the perfect appetizer, snack, main dish, perfection of a dish in the shape of its own name. Here we go.

Manicotti are large, tube-shaped pasta, great for stuffing with delicious ingredients. We just had to experiment with them in the smoker!

I made a fabulous stuffing with sausage and cheese, and wrapped the filled shells in bacon. Why? Because bacon makes everything better.

Make no mistake about it. This dish is pure decadence, and just the thing to make if you want to spoil your family or impress your guests.

🐷 Ingredients

Sausage – Purchase your ground sausage of choice by the pound instead of buying it in casings you would have to remove.

Bacon – Thin sliced bacon works best for this recipe. Thick sliced bacon will require a longer cook time and create even more grease.

Cheese – Pepper jack cheese was our choice. We like to get a block of cheese and grate it ourselves. Good cheese makes a difference!

Manicotti Noodles – These large dry noodles are just waiting to be stuffed.

Dry Rub – Bring good seasoning to the party! We used the Burnt Sacrifice Sweet Carolina rub. You can use your favorite.

BBQ Sauce – Again, use your favorite! We love this Sweet ‘n Mild Mississippi Barbecue Sauce if you are looking for a recommendation. I know I’m always looking for a new sauce to try over here!

⏲️ Equipment and Tools

Large Mixing Bowl

Cooling Rack on a Baking Sheet. A safe place for the shotgun shells to rest for one day in the fridge before you smoke them. The flavors meld. The meat dries out a bit. The noodles soften. You get all of your meal prep done the day before. It’s a win-win.

Smoker

Pastry Brush

🔥 Instructions

Step 1: Grate your cheese. Freshly grated cheese is always just a little more flavorful and doesn’t have the powdering anti-caking agent in pre-grated cheese.

Step 2: Put all of the ingredients for the filling in a bowl and mix them with your hands until the mixture is smooth and evenly mixed. If you want to go rogue, add a little bit of the dry rub to your mix.

Step 3: Stuff the noodles. Take an uncooked manicotti and push the filling mixture in from both ends then wrap bacon around it.

Step 4: Sprinkle with the BBQ rub on both sides of the shells. Put on a cooling rack that is placed on a sheet pan. Continue until all the manicotti noodles are complete.

Step 5: Everything needs to chill. Refrigerating the stuffed noodles overnight will allow the noodles to soften and soak up sausage flavor.

Step 6: Preheat your smoker to 350ºF. Smoke your shotgun shells for one hour. Did I mention this was fast? After one hour, brush the manicotti with BBQ sauce and leave them in the smoker for five to ten more minutes until the sauce caramelizes a bit. Yum!

❗ Recipe Tips and Tricks

If you use gloves, working with sausage and bacon isn’t so bad. Mixing the sausage filling by hand is definitely the way to go. You don’t want to overwork the sausage or break up the cheese too much with a hand mixer.

For doneness, your goal is for the filling mixture to reach 165ºF. The best way to judge this is to get an instant read thermometer. Make sure to check out our list of wireless meat thermometers.

If you don’t have 24 hours to let your noodles soften in the fridge, you can parboil them for 4-5 minutes so that they have just started to soften before stuffing them.

For a more “professional” way to stuff the manicotti, load the sausage filling in a disposable piping bag, twist the open end a few times and hold it in the palm of your hand, cut the tip off to match the size of your noodle, place the open tip of the bag into the noodle as far as it will go, and squeeze filling into the tube. You may still have to work from both ends. Some people swear by this method, but I like using my hands.

🧑‍🍳 Storage and Reheating

Uncooked smoked shotgun shells can be kept in the refrigerator, covered, for up to three days before your big event depending on the “use by” date on your sausage.

If you have leftover smoked shotgun shells, they store beautifully in the refrigerator and can be reheated quickly in the microwave in as little as thirty seconds. Keep them in an airtight container for up to three days. For reheating, add thirty seconds at a time until the cheese is bubbly and hot in the center.

Freeze your leftovers in an airtight container for up to three months if you won’t use them up quickly enough. Thaw and reheat in a skillet or microwave.

Additions and Substitutions

For sausage, you can go hot, mild, seasoned, or sweet. Take your pick. Honestly you could probably even get away with chorizo.

If you aren’t a fan of pepper jack cheese, use Colby jack, cheddar, or a Mexican cheese blend.

Would you like to kick up the heat? Add a diced jalapeño to the sausage mixture, or stir in a dash or two of red pepper flakes or ancho chili powder.

We used dry manicotti noodles. You can find several different noodles that would work for this recipe.

Add pepperoni to the sausage and cheese mixture. I mean, why not?

Serving Suggestions

This incredible dish works as an appetizer, snack, or side dish. It’s a perfect conversation starter for your next big BBQ – it’s bacon and BBQ combined so what could be better? You could also serve these with a salad for a quick hands off weeknight meal with a little prep the day before.

BBQ Smoked Shotgun Shells go well with burgers, pulled pork sandwiches, salad, or any grilled or smoked meat.

❓ Recipe FAQ

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