Smoked n’ Stuffed Meatballs

Prep time:

10 minutes

Cook time:

60 minutes

Yield:

12-15 Meatballs

Difficulty level:

Simple

These Smoked Meatballs are stuffed with gooey mozzarella cheese, slowly smoked on the grill, and then finished with a BBQ sauce glaze. Smoked Stuffed BBQ Meatballs are the ultimate game-day snack or great for dinner with the family.

We don’t mess around with meatballs around here. I like to pack them with bold or unique flavors. Whether we’re going with our giant meatballs perfect for a meatball sandwich, or lamb meatballs for a twist, we like to make them big BBQ flavor bombs.

Now, smoked meatballs alone are fantastic. But if you want something fun and indulgent for game day, party appetizer, or heck just a Tuesday night dinner, these Smoked Stuffed BBQ Meatballs are absolutely delicious.

Ingredients

1 lb ground beef (80/20)
⅓ lb ground pork
¼ cup pork panko (if gluten-free), otherwise regular panko breadcrumbs are fine
1 tablespoon dry rub (we recommend Hasty Bake Rub n’ Spice)
½ teaspoon dried thyme
⅓ red onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, finely diced
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 egg
1 tablespoon parmesan cheese, shredded
4 mozzarella cheese sticks, cut into roughly 1″ pieces (adjust to the size of your meatballs)
1 cup BBQ sauce

Instructions

Preheat your smoker to 225 degrees F. We used apple wood chunks with lump charcoal.
While the smoker is warming, prepare the meatballs by combining all ingredients (less the BBQ sauce and mozzarella cheese) and combine with your hands. Be gentle just mix enough so it’s all together.
Prepare meatballs by rolling a little over a tablespoon in size and then using your thumb, press a small indent and place cheese in the fold. Then work the meatball again around the cheese so you have the meat surrounding the cheese. That’s why we go with larger meatballs.
Place meatballs in the smoker until the internal temperature reaches 155 degrees (about 45 minutes) when checking the internal temperature of the meat. Then place the meatballs in a heat proof dish (or cast iron skillet) with the BBQ sauce and return to your smoker and close lid.
When the meatballs reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees (or about 15 more minutes) they are done.
Serve warm & Enjoy!