Country Anvil has decided to share one of our favorite barbecue recipes!
If you’ve never had em, you’re missing out, big time.
Start with manicotti shells, the amount in the box will vary by brand but 12 to 14 seems to be the norm. Next, for 2 boxes of manicotti you’ll need 3 lbs of ground beef, 2 lbs of hot Italian ground sausage, 1 1/4 lbs of shredded cheese of your choice, 1 block of soft cream cheese, 1/2 of a medium onion finely chopped, garlic powder and black pepper to your liking, and enough bacon slices to wrap each manicotti shell, which is the last step. Mix the ground meats, onion, cheese, cream cheese and seasonings together in a large bowl or pot, combine all ingredients very, very, yes, very well. Next, taking care not to break the manicotti, stuff each one fully avoiding any air pockets in the shell and so that a little mixture is protruding from each end of the shell, time consuming, but needs to be done. Once they are all stuffed, tightly wrap each shell with a slice of bacon. Once they are all wrapped, place them in a suitable container and put them uncovered in the fridge for a minimum of 6 hours but 12 to 14 hours is best to ensure the shells are soft and tender when ready to eat. The uncooked shells will begin to absorb the oils from all of the ingredients and this will help soften them, this is an important step, don’t disregard it. Once they are ready, preheat the smoker to 250 degrees and then put in the shells. Try to avoid any shell from touching its neighbor, they will stick together and pull the bacon off each other. After 45 minutes, coat the top of the shells with your favorite barbecue sauce. Cook for and additional 15 minutes which should be an hour total on this first side. After that, turn the shells over and coat the bare side with your favorite barbecue sauce and allow to cook for another hour. Once the bacon is getting crispy, they are basically done. One warning, if your smoker has hot or cold spots, watch carefully and move the shells as needed to ensure a uniform cook to avoid under or over cooking. Once they are ready, remove from the smoker and place in a suitable container and eat right away. Any leftovers can be sealed in a container and put in the fridge. Warm them up for later use in the microwave taking care not to cook them any further, just warm them up to a comfortable edible food temperature. That’s it, these things are awesome and I’ve made them many times with zero regrets! O, great sides are mac salad, potato salad, mac and cheese, corn bread or whatever fits your desire. Try em, you’ll love em!