There has been a bit of a hubbub in the BBQ world about a certain side dish that has taken the BBQ scene by storm. I am referring to ‘Shotgun Shells’ and everywhere you look people are lighting up their smokers to give these fantastic things a try.
Today I am going to give you the recipe for about ten of these shells so you can do some simple math and scale it up or down depending on the size of your gathering. If you are going to make ten of them you are going to need about 300 grams of ground beef. 20 slices of bacon, 2 chilis, 100 grams of gouda and 50 grams of parmesan. The beauty of this recipe is that it is so flexible. Many people are making them with cream cheese and if that’s what you want then just change it up. Don’t like gouda? no problem, just switch it our for a cheese you do like. For the pasta shells I recommend Cannelloni and you can purchase it here.
Making the Shotgun Shells
Get started by finely dicing the chili and the cheese. Add the mix to your ground beef and season it. I chose to season with salt and pepper, but if you have a favorite BBQ rub then throw this into the mix at this point. Once the whole thing is bound together it is time to get the mixture inside your cannelloni shells. Preferably you will be using some that are oven ready as generally it means they will cook slightly better on the BBQ. You need to get your mixture stuffed inside the pasta shells. We are making ten for this recipe and did it by spoon but people have been known to use their sausage machines to quicken the process.
With the shells stuffed it is time to wrap them in bacon. I said twenty pieces earlier in the recipe because i love bacon and i think a couple of pieces each shell is probably about the right amount. So, with that in mind wrap each of the shells with two pieces of bacon and set aside.
Grill Those Shotgun Shells!
It is time to get outside to the grill. Get your BBQ alight and with the lid down bring it up to a temperature of about 180-200 degrees. It does not matter if this takes a while because whilst the BBQ is heating up all that moisture inside the shotgun shells is seeping into the pasta which will help the cooking process.
Once you are up to temperature you want to place the shells on the grills so that they can cook indirectly. Leave the for about 25 minutes for the pasta to cook through and the bacon to crisp up. After this time give them a brushing of BBQ sauce to glaze and allow them to cook for another ten minutes.
These are a really great side and will surely impress all of your guests. Love these sides? then you might want to also check out our fantastic moink balls!
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Am I understanding that you do not boil/pre cook the shells? You use them dry, correct?
Yes that is correct. If you leave them
a while before cooking the juices will soak in a bit and make them a bit softer. A lot of people do also part boil the shells first.
can you freeze these (uncooked) and cook them later?
The shells have to be the oven ready kind and no need to boil these kind of pasta.
I’ve seen a vid where in the fridg overnight helps a lot to soften the pasta.
That’s why you use oven ready then you need not boil
Great
Looks good can’t wait to try this
Can these be cooked in the oven instead of on a bbq?
Could these be done in a oven on broil?
Could these be cooked in the oven or air fryer?
Yes.
Do you have a low-carb version version
Probably better to par-boil the shells halfway . . make them at least somewhat al dente before you grill them.
A lot of people also do this. I have tried both and it works either way.
Can I do this in the oven?
Yes, you just wouldn’t get any Smokey flavor form your wood but they would still taste amazing.
Can I bake in oven if so time an temp please
30 Minutes at 200, just like the smoker timing.
You could put the filling in a pastry bag, or gallon size freezer bag with the corner cut off slightly smaller than the opening of the pasta. Then just squeeze it in.
Definitely! Great idea!
Can these be made in the oven and then broiled to crisp up?
Can you pre make the bbq shotgun shells for 1 or 2 days later? Or would pasta go soggy
I would not recommend it. A few hours before would work well as the juices would soften the pasta a little before going on the smoker. A couple of days would end in some really soggy pasta in my opinion
great snack-have made it with a few different meat blends as filler—think it works best if you leaf them in the fridge overnite b4 smoking—shell seems the best then