Fire up the smoker and grab some beers because today's recipe is nothing short of delicious pork pornography! Pork Shotgun Shells are smoked bacon-wrapped manicotti stuffed with pork sausage and cheese! Who could turn down such a pork-load of pleasure? Most of the effort is in the prep work, but the cook is relatively fast and final product is nothing short of magic pork deliciousness! Check this one out and give it a try because as soon as your friends and family see these come out of the smoker you will wish you had made twice as much. Let's get cooking!
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Like I previously mentioned, this recipe has quite a bit of prep work involved so let's just jump in and get right to it. We will begin by combining the pork sausage, shredded cheese, and some dry rub. This is where you can feel free to experiment using breakfast sausage, generic ground pork, Italian sausage, etc etc. I used my own personal pork dry rub, Grubb's Sweet Heat, but again, you can use your favorite rub here as well. Put on some gloves and really get the mixture well incorporated.
Now comes the tedious part of stuffing this meat into the manicotti shells without breaking them. I tried a few different techniques like rolling the meat into little "snakes" and trying to run them through, but ultimately decided that just taking a little meat at a time and gently pushing it through using a finger worked best. Fill the manicotti from one end to the other. The juices from this internal meat play a major role in actually help softening and cooking the manicotti shells themselves.
Well, we are halfway through this tedious pain in the ass work! Now it is time to wrap each shell with a slice of bacon. Don't skimp on the bacon and use that super thin stuff either, because like the internal meat, the outer bacon wrap also helps cook the pasta as well. You definitely don't need to use any super thick slices, but ultimately use something labeled as "thick slices" to ensure there will be enough excess fat rendered to cook the pasta. Once you have your entire batch wrapped, go ahead and pull that dry rub back out and dust the bacon. We might as well double down on our flavor profile every chance possible, eh?
Now we can finally say the hard part is officially done! Fire up your smoker to 275-300 degrees Fahrenheit. While you wait, line up your Pork Shotgun Shells on a jerky rack to ensure maximum smoke and flavor penetration without things falling through the cracks of regular smoker grates. Might as well make sure they are all evenly dusted with your dry rub as well.
Put these Pork Shotgun Shells in your smoker with some fruit wood like Apple or Cherry. I have found that Pecan is also a great choice for this recipe. Anyway, use whatever you have on hand, but I would stray from hickory or mesquite this time as they are just a bit too harsh for pork in this form. Le them smoke for about an hour, turning them once so those juices keep basting the manicotti shells.
After an hour at 275-300 degrees, baste these Pork Shotgun Shells with your favorite sauce, perhaps some Bourbon Barbecue Sauce to kick things up a notch!?!?!?! Give them about 15-20 minutes, then flip one last time and baste the other side for an additional 15 minutes to set the sauce and finish things up.
At this point, the shells should be softened and the bacon crisped to perfection. If not, let them cook a bit longer with an additional water pan to add the humidity necessary for the manicotti. I tend to always smoke with a tray of apple juice, apple cider vinegar, and some water myself so mine were cooked to perfection at this point. The very edges of the shells may remain a bit hard due to being exposed somewhat, but the main portion surrounded by bacon and stuffed with pork sausage should be cooked through before serving.
Voila! Yes this one took quite a bit of prep work, but the final product is worth its weight in porkalicious gold! You can just plop them on a tray and serve as is, or maybe with a final drizzle of sauce, but the shells themselves already make for a nice presentation, eh? You don't have to get fancy with cross cuts or anything because as soon as you reveal them to the crowd they will start flying off the tray! Whether you are a veteran behind the smoker or a rookie noob, don't be afraid to step out and try something new, like these amazing Pork Shotgun Shells! As always, get out there and make something delicious...Just Keep Cooking!
Pork Shotgun Shells
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