Tender, juicy meatballs oozing with cheesy goodness wrapped in seasoned bacon. It’s time to fire up the smoker to make one of the best appetizers you’ll ever eat!
This post is being sponsored by my friends at Hoosier Hill Farm featuring their amazing Big Daddy Mac Mix and Worcestershire Sauce Powder. As always, all opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting partnerships with brands I trust and believe in.
Truly The Best Smoked Meatball
I’ve made a bajillion meatballs in my career ranging from Nonna’s classic Italian, Thanksgiving dinner meatballs to even non-meat meatballs but this meatball folks… THIS is the best smoked meatball I have ever, EVER made/eaten.
It’s cheesy, with that hint of smoke, crispy bacon on the outside with a super tender and flavorful meaty inside. And to send it over the top, it’s served with some Big Daddy Mac Mix cheese sauce. Seriously, Mr. Fantabulous and I were going nuts over how amazing these were.
Grab Your Ingredients
There are truly 2 stars of the dish – the Big Daddy Mac Mix and Worcestershire Sauce Powder. The cheese mix adds such amazing cheesy flavor to the meatballs themselves plus makes such an incredible dipping sauce to dunk them in.
Next is that Worcestershire Sauce Powder! I talk about it more later on but trust me, this will be a permanent ingredient in all meatballs going forward!
- Ground Meat – I grind my own. Go with an 80/20% blend
- Big Daddy Mac Mix and Worcestershire Sauce Powder from Hoosier Hill Farm
- Dairy – cheese, egg, milk
- Bread
- Bacon
- Seasoning
Make Meatball Mixture
- To a saucepan over medium heat, add the milk and butter.
- Once the butter melts, remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the Hoosier Hill Farm Big Daddy Mac Mix.
- Add in the bread pieces pressing down into the mixture. Stir until all of the bread pieces are coated.
- Set aside and allow to cool.
- To a bowl, add the beef, egg, steak seasoning, shredded cheese, and cooled panade mixture. Using your hands, gently mix to combine the meat. The mixture should be wet/soft but will hold a shape when you form them into meatballs. Scoop enough meat mixture to form a 2” round ball (I use a large cookie scoop to measure out my meatballs). Wet your hands and shape. Damp hands are a trick to keeping the mixture from sticking to your hands!
- Take 1 half strip of bacon and wrap it around the meatball. Do not make it tight/stretch it out; just wrap it so the edges overlap slightly. Take a toothpick and secure the bacon to the meatball. Place on a foil-lined rimmed baking pan with a cooling rack in it. Place the meatballs into the fridge to chill for 1 hour.
Chef’s Tip for Shaping Meatballs
Damp Hands! Seriously, that’s the best tip. Well okay, that and using a large cookie scoop!
Wet your hands and shape. Damp hands are a trick to keeping the mixture from sticking to your hands. When the mixture starts to stick to your hands, just re-wet your hands.
Smoke To Perfection
- Preheat the smoker to 250F. Once the smoker is up to temp, remove the tray of cold meatballs from the fridge. Coat all sides with the fine meat rub seasoning place the tray of meatballs on a cooling rack and place it on the top rack of the smoker.
- Smoke for 45-60 minutes or until the internal temp is 155F. Remove the meatballs from the smoker and set aside. Increase the smoker temp to 350F and place the meatballs back into the smoker for the bacon to crisp up. Smoke until the internal temp is 165F.
Serve With Big Daddy Mac Mix cheese sauce
When these meatballs came out of the smoker the smell was absolutely amazing. I knew I had to make some cheese sauce to serve with these. I mean anything cheey goodness just makes something extra amazing.
Worcestershire Sauce Powder – A Magical Ingredient
So most of us have used or are familiar with Worcestershire Sauce but honestly, I’ve been crushing hard on this Worcestershire Sauce Powder from Hoosier Hill. It’s such an amazing way to add depth of flavor to meats, soups, and stews. It gives you a crave-worthy savory umami flavor to dishes.
The bigger thing is that you don’t add additional liquid to a recipe. Trust me on this folks, you NEED this in your pantry!
Oven Directions
If you don’t have a smoker, you can make these in your home oven.
- Make the meatballs, wrap them in bacon, and let them chill in the fridge. When you’re ready to bake them, preheat the oven to 350F.
- Place a cooling rack in a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet. Season the meatballs on all sides and place on the rack.
- Bake for 40-50 minutes or until the internal temp reads 165F and the bacon is crispy.
Bacon Wrapped Cheesy Big Daddy Mac Meatballs On The Smoker
Tender, juicy meatballs oozing with cheesy goodness wrapped in seasoned bacon. It’s time to fire up the smoker to make one of the best appetizers you’ll ever eat!
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 1.5 hours
- Total Time: 2 hours
- Yield: 20-24 meatballs
- Category: meatballs, appetizers, cheesy appetizers, bacon wrapped meatballs, game day appetizers, best meatballs
- Method: smoker, grilled
- Cuisine: meatballs, appetizers, cheesy appetizers, bacon wrapped meatballs, game day appetizers, best meatballs
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds ground beef (80/20)
- 1 teaspoon of Worcestershire Sauce Powder
- 1 large egg
- 3 teaspoonssteak seasoning
- 1 1/2 cups freshly shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- 1/2 cup of milk
- 2 Tablespoons of butter, unsalted
- 1/4 cup of Big Daddy Mac Mix
- 2 slices of bread of fresh Italian sandwich bread
- 8–10 strips of regular cut bacon, cut in half
- 2–3 teaspoons fine meat rub seasoning
- Dipping Sauce:Big Daddy Mac Mix Cheese sauce
Instructions
Make The Panade
- To a saucepan over medium heat, add the milk and butter.
- Once the butter melts, remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the Hoosier Hill Farm Big Daddy Mac Mix.
- Add in the bread pieces pressing down into the mixture. Stir until all of the bread pieces are coated.
- Set aside and allow to cool.
Meatballs
- To a bowl, add the beef, egg, steak seasoning, shredded cheese, and cooled panade mixture. Using your hands, gently mix to combine the meat. The mixture should be wet/soft but will hold a shape when you form them into meatballs. Scoop enough meat mixture to form a 2” round ball (I use a large cookie scoop to measure out my meatballs). Wet your hands and shape. Damp hands are a trick to keeping the mixture from sticking to your hands!
- Take 1 half strip of bacon and wrap it around the meatball. Do not make it tight/stretch it out; just wrap it so the edges overlap slightly. Take a toothpick and secure the bacon to the meatball. Place on a foil-lined rimmed baking pan. Place the meatballs into the fridge to chill for 1 hour.
Smoke To Perfection
- Preheat the smoker to 250F. Once the smoker is up to temp, remove the tray of cold meatballs from the fridge. Coat all sides with the fine meat rub seasoning place the tray of meatballs on a cooling rack and place it on the top rack of the smoker.
- Smoke for 45-60 minutes or until the internal temp is 155F. Remove the meatballs from the smoker and set aside. Increase the smoker temp to 350F and place the meatballs back into the smoker for the bacon to crisp up. Smoke until the internal temp is 165F.
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