Are you curious to try Traeger smoked shotgun shells? This delicious appetizer is all the rage right now. They are pasta tubes stuffed with ground beef and cheese, then wrapped in bacon and given a yummy BBQ sauce glaze at the end.
They have to be one of my favorite appetizers! Below, I have included my simple five-step method for cooking them so you can serve them at your next cookout or backyard party.
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Table of contents
Traeger Shotgun Shells
Imagine pasta stuffed with meaty and cheesy goodness, garlic, and jalapenos. Then the pasta shells are wrapped in bacon, because we all know everything tastes better! Then they are thrown in the smoker to give that delicious smoky hit
Who couldn’t love pasta stuffed with meat, wrapped in bacon, and covered with melting cheese?
What You’ll Need
- Uncooked manicotti shells or cannelloni shells as a substitute
- Beef Mince
- Ground Sausage (we love Italian Sausage)
- Bacon (we prefer smoked)
- Pepper Jack or Cheddar Cheese
- Brown Onion
- Garlic (minced)
- Jalapeno
- BBQ Sauce
- Dry Rub (store-bought or use my recipe below)
How to Make Shotgun Shells on the Traeger
Step 1: Make the Filling
Place the BBQ rub, beef, sausage meat, onion, garlic, jalapenos, cheddar cheese, and pepper jack cheese together in a bowl and mix well; you may need to use your hands.
Step 2: Assemble
Stuff the Manicotti shells with your meat and cheese mixture, then carefully wrap the bacon around each one, covering completely, and then place on a wire rack. Then sprinkle the remaining BBQ rub on the bacon. Place on a wire rack on a pan and put it in the refrigerator for 4 -6 hours
Step 3: Smoke
Preheat the smoker to 225°F and wait until it reaches temperature. Then pick your wood; you don’t need to be confined to particular pellets for light or heavy-flavored smoke. Want a stronger-tasting appetizer? Use the almighty hickory!
The bacon you used is already heavily smoked? Pick a mild and sweet wood like cherry or apple! Play around with what you enjoy!
Place the wire rack in the smoker and smoke for 60 minutes, or until the bacon begins to crisp. Once the bacon is starting to crisp increase the temperature to 350°F, take the rack out of the smoker and brush the shells with BBQ sauce.
Place the rack back in the smoker and cook for another 15 minutes, and allow the sauce to caramelize. Once the internal temperature reaches 160°F and the glaze is set, remove the rack from the smoker and serve immediately.
What Else Can You Put in Your Shotgun Shell?
I thought you would never ask! Prefer sharp cheddar cheese to pepper jack? Do it! Don’t eat beef? Use ground pork…Below are more ideas of what to add to your shells mix
- Diced Mushrooms
- Olives
- Blue Cheese
- Pine Nuts
- Ricotta
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🍢 Tasty Appetizers to Serve with Pork Loin
Smoked Jalapeño Poppers
Duck Jalapeño Poppers
Smashed Meatball Sliders
Game Day Crunchy Meatballs
Smoked Buffalo Turkey Dip
Baked Buffalo Chicken Dip
Smoked Queso
Baked Queso Dip
Bratchos (Beer Brat Nachos)
Smoked Onion Bomb
Chorizo Nachos
Loaded Nachos
Dorito Meatballs
Traeger Smoked Shotgun Shells
Equipment
- 1 Trager Pellet Grill
Ingredients
- 1 box uncooked manicotti shells or cannelloni shells as a substitute
- 1 lb beef mince or meat mixture of your choice
- 10 ounces sausage meat we love Italian sausages
- 10 slices bacon we prefer smoked
- 1 cup Pepper jack cheese
- 1 cup Cheddar cheese
- 1 whole brown onion diced
- 1 clove fresh garlic minced
- 1 whole jalapeno sliced
- 1 cup BBQ Sauce
- 2 tbsp BBQ Rub
Instructions
- Place the BBQ rub, beef, sausage meat, onion, garlic, jalapenos, cheddar cheese, pepper jack cheese together in a bowl and mix well, you may need to use your hands.
- Stuff the Manicotti shells with your meat and cheese mixture, then carefully wrap the bacon around each one, covering completely and then place on a wire rack. Then sprinkle the remaining BBQ rub on the bacon.
- Place on a wire rack on a pan and put it in the refrigerator for 4 -6 hours
- Preheat the smoker to 220°F, and wait until it comes up to temp. Place the wire rack in the smoker and smoke for 60 minutes or until the bacon is starting to crispy.
- Once the bacon is starting to crisp increase the temperature to 350°F, take the rack out of the smoker and brush the shells with BBQ sauce.
- Place the rack back in the smoker and cook for another 15 minutes and allow the sauce to caramelize.
- After 15 minutes remove the rack from the smoker and serve immediately.
Smoke On!
Charlie
Hi, I’m Charlie, I have been meat-smoking and grilling for the past 15 years. I have an array of different smokers, thermometers, and have a love for finding the right wood and charcoal combo My favourite recipes are my EXTRA CRISPY smoked pork belly, juicy pulled pork, smoked brisket, duck poppers, and ANY SEAFOOD I grill).
I loves sharing his tips with beginners, helping them navigate the world of smoking. I find it’s not just about cooking; it’s a quest for that perfect smoky flavor.
You will usually find me playing with the kids, perfecting my brisket bark, or sipping beers with boys around the fire. Can’t wait to share all my delicious smoking and grilling recipes with you!
You can read more about me on our About Us page.
Hungry For More?
Hi,
I followed your recipe but I added blue and mushrooms to the shotgun shells and it was so delicious!! Do you think its ok to let them cook for 25 minutes with the bbq sauce on? I like the sauce to be really caramlised
Hi Diesel,
so glad your enjoyed them!! I will be trying them with blue cheese soon too! I think it would be fine to cook for the 25 minutes I would just keep an eye on them to ensure they don’t burn.