Smoked Chili Dog Shotgun Shells with Bacon
Another take on the famous BBQ Shotgun Shells! Who doesn’t love a chili dog?
Things to know:
What are smoked shotgun shells?
Typical smoked shotgun shells are manicotti stuffed with meat and cheese, wrapped in bacon and smoked. A lot of people make them with Italian sausage, mozzarella, and parmesan and, while those are delicious, this recipe goes a totally different direction!
What goes with smoked shotgun shells?
These delicious shotgun shells are an amazing appetizer, especially when served with dips like smoked salsa and queso.
Do you pre-cook manicotti for shotgun shells?
While you normally cook manicotti shells before filling them when making most pasta dishes, you want to start with uncooked manicotti shells for your shotgun shells. As the shells cook, the pasta will soak in the juices from the meat mixture and the bacon wrapping, so no need to worry about crunchy pasta! Making them the day before you cook them and resting them in the refrigerator overnight will also help soften the shells.
What is the difference between manicotti and cannelloni?
Manicotti is the Italian-American version of Cannelloni. Both are pasta tubes, but the difference between the two is fairly minimal: Manicotti tubes are ridged, larger and slightly thicker and often open on the ends. Cannelloni tubes are smooth, a touch smaller and slightly thinner and closed on the ends.
What is the origin of manicotti?
Manicotti, a beloved Italian-American dish, has roots that trace back to traditional Italian recipes for stuffed pasta. The name “manicotti” means “little sleeves” in Italian, referring to the pasta’s tubular shape, designed to hold rich fillings like ricotta, mozzarella, and herbs.
Do they eat manicotti in Italy?
Instead of manicotti, Italians tend to eat a very similar pasta called cannelloni.
Ingredients
1 package of manicotti (typically 14 shells)
42 strips of bacon
8oz. package of cream cheese
1 finely diced sweet onion
1 cup of the shredded cheese of your preference
1 can of chili (we love Hormel No Beans Chili)
7 large hot dogs (if you can’t find big ones like the Kirkland’s Beef Dinner Franks from Costco, you may need 14 hot dogs)
Rub of your choice (We used Honey Chipotle Killer Bee rub from Kosmo Q)
Some sort of mustard based sauce to use as a glaze (We used Sweet Baby Ray’s Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce)
1. The next before, mix together your filling: cream cheese, shredded cheese of your choice, diced onion and chili. That is what we used, but the possibilities are endless!
2. Stuff your manicotti shells, then wrap the shell lengthwise with a strip of bacon to cover the openings to the shell.
3. Cut up each hot dog into 4 lengthwise planks.
4. Place the hot dog planks against the outside of the shell, 90 degrees apart from each other, then secure the planks by wrapping with 2 slices of bacon. Chuck those puppies into the fridge overnight.
5. On Shotgun Shell day, preheat your smoker to 225F, then apply your favorite rub to the outside you your shells.
7. Place the shells on the smoker and cook for about 90 minutes, then raise the smoker temp to 350F, base the shells and cook for another 10-20 minutes.
8. Remove from the smoker, allow to cool a bit, then CONSUME and ENJOY!
Equipment used:
Yoder YS640S Smoker
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