Meat balls

Fireguy06 · October 03, 2013, 10:05:00 PM

Anyone tried smoking meatballs I wanna give it a try for my dad's birthday for a big group anyone tried this if so got any recipe or times and temp would be great

Saber 4 · October 03, 2013, 10:57:20 PM

Do a search for NePaSmoker's moink balls, you can't go wrong with them. If that doesn't turn up in the search engine look at some of the posts for the Midwest Smoke Out I know there were some posts in there with them.

Fireguy06 · October 05, 2013, 09:16:51 AM

Has anyone tried this in the smoker

pensrock · October 05, 2013, 10:36:05 AM

I'm not sure what exactly you want to do. If you want to make something like a mooink ball then yes many on here have made them. They are basically a cooked meatball wrapped with a slice of bacon and the bacon is held in place with a toothpick. You then smoke them till the bacon is cooked, meatball is already cooked. About 20 minuted before you take them out, glaze them with a sauce of your liking. I love to use melted pepper jelly, but have also used a spicy sweet BBQ sauce. Others have used other sauces they like.
If your asking if anyone has made raw meatballs and smoke/cooked them in the Bradley to be used in another kind of dish. I'm sure it has been done but I have not done it myself so I would defer to someone who has done it. I have done meatloaf in the Bradley and they come out great, so there is no reason meatballs would not come out great as well.

Fireguy06 · October 05, 2013, 10:47:52 AM

Ya I wanna make raw meatballs in the OBS gunna most likely do them in a cake pan to keep them in there juices so they don't dry out

Saber 4 · October 05, 2013, 10:54:15 AM

Sounds like it could be an interesting new project that would make some good pasta dishes, however, I would ask of the more experienced folks if you need to add any Cure #1 or if you would be out of the danger zone heat wise quick enough to not need it. I definitely like the idea of it and would love to see how it turns out if you try it.

Fireguy06 · October 05, 2013, 11:01:49 AM

I plan on smoking them at 250 I know u can smoke hamburgers without adding cure so should be ok

Wildcat · October 05, 2013, 11:07:26 AM

I have not done meat balls but I have done meat loaf completely in the smoker. Just smoke/cook as high as you can get it.

Saber 4 · October 05, 2013, 11:11:48 AM

I would say your ok, you might consider putting them on a rack with a pan below to catch the drippings or draining the pan halfway through to balance your desire not to dry them out with getting smoke to them. I don't think any smoke is going to get into the meatball on the parts that are below the juice/fat level. Other's may have a different opinion or experience so go with what makes sense to you.

KyNola · October 05, 2013, 07:00:36 PM

Quote from: pensrock on October 05, 2013, 10:36:05 AM
I'm not sure what exactly you want to do. If you want to make something like a mooink ball then yes many on here have made them. They are basically a cooked meatball wrapped with a slice of bacon and the bacon is held in place with a toothpick. You then smoke them till the bacon is cooked, meatball is already cooked. About 20 minuted before you take them out, glaze them with a sauce of your liking. I love to use melted pepper jelly, but have also used a spicy sweet BBQ sauce. Others have used other sauces they like.
If your asking if anyone has made raw meatballs and smoke/cooked them in the Bradley to be used in another kind of dish. I'm sure it has been done but I have not done it myself so I would defer to someone who has done it. I have done meatloaf in the Bradley and they come out great, so there is no reason meatballs would not come out great as well.

My friend Pensrock has you covered on this. You certainly can do it from a raw state if you have that much time. I also would tend to agree with Saber about not cooking them directly in a pan but you should do it however you feel good about. No need for Cure #1.

Wildcat · October 05, 2013, 07:06:57 PM

I would also recommend cooking on a rack. I have a wire mesh meat loaf basket designed for my grill that I use in the Bradley.

Fireguy06 · October 05, 2013, 08:45:57 PM

Anyone got a time schedule they think it may take

Saber 4 · October 05, 2013, 08:51:47 PM

I would guess in the 2 hour range, but I think it would be more like doing ribs in that their going to be to small to leave a probe in. So I would suggest going by look and using an instant read thermometer to check for a safe IT for whatever meat you use to make them. If you're going to use them in other recipes I would pull them at the bottom end of the safe range so they won't be over cooked when you add them to a cook later.

Fireguy06 · October 06, 2013, 07:06:27 AM

Thanks everyone for the help I will keep everyone in the loop when I do them should be a fun event to try