Shotgun Shells Bacon
Oven-baked shotgun shells are a crowd-pleasing appetizer made by stuffing manicotti with a savory mix of ground beef, Italian sausage, cheeses, spices and jalapeño, then wrapping each shell in bacon and glazing with barbecue sauce. Crispy, smoky and rich, they make a memorable party bite.
Equipment
- baking sheet
- Wire rack
- Large mixing bowl
Ingredients
- 2 8 ounce box uncooked manicotti shells
- 1.5 pound ground beef
- 1 pound hot Italian sausage
- 1 medium onion finely diced
- 2 cups Colby Jack cheddar cheese shredded
- 6 ounces cream cheese
- 1 jalapeño finely diced
- 2 teaspoons Slap Ya Mama seasoning
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 3 12 ounce package bacon
- 1/3 cup barbecue sauce plus extra for brushing
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 300°F (150°C). Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil for easy cleanup and set a wire rack on top.
- In a large bowl, combine ground beef, hot Italian sausage, finely diced onion, shredded Colby Jack, cream cheese, diced jalapeño, Slap Ya Mama seasoning, garlic powder, black pepper and red pepper flakes. Mix until the filling is evenly blended.
- Carefully stuff each uncooked manicotti shell with the meat-and-cheese mixture from both openings, taking care to remove any air gaps so the filling is compact.
- Wrap each filled shell with bacon, covering the exposed ends; you may need to overlap two strips to fully encase a shell. Press gently so the bacon adheres to the filling.
- Brush both sides of the bacon-wrapped shells with additional barbecue sauce, then arrange them seam-side down on the prepared wire rack set over the baking sheet.
- Bake for 60 minutes, then carefully flip each shell, brush again with more barbecue sauce, and return to the oven.
- Continue baking for another 60–70 minutes, or until the bacon is deeply browned and crisp and the filling is cooked through.
- Remove the baking sheet from the oven and let the shells rest briefly before serving warm.