Ooohh man, I am excited to share this recipe with you! These Hot Pepper Jelly Smoked Meatballs are where it’s at and will be your go to Summer appetizer. With just a few ingredients, you can have an easy and different snack that is sweet, savory, and a little spicy, too! Don’t feel like hauling out the smoker? Of course you can bake them, too!
Ever since we bought a Traeger Pellet Smoker, I have been loving new recipes on it like my Smoked Spicy Sausage Queso and even smoked salsa! Yes! I use the smoker all by myself and have fun with it! Mike uses it all the time to to make brisket and even smoked jerky! Any who, I was thinking I needed a new easy fun appetizer that we can make right outside if we have people over so came up with these Hot Pepper Jelly Smoked Meatballs!
If you like experimenting with new appetizer and side dishes on your smoker, then this recipe is for you! Another great recipe you can check out is some Pork Belly Burnt Ends from OwWhateverYouDo!
The flavor of these bacon wrapped smoked meatballs is absolutely incredible! They have a little sticky tangy sweet glaze with crispy smoky bacon! (Which we even smoked our own bacon). LOVE IT!
What is hot pepper jelly?
We used a cherry jalapeno hot pepper jelly that Mike’s Uncle Norm makes and it was delicious. Hot pepper jelly is a jelly that is made with one or various kinds of hot peppers but generally is still a little sweet with the heat! You can buy different flavors of hot pepper jelly at many stores or online. If you don’t have any but still want to try this I would just slather them in BBQ sauce or even a regular flavored jelly!
What you need for these Hot Pepper Jelly Smoked Meatballs
- Frozen Homestyle Meatballs (slightly thawed)
- BBQ Rub
- Bacon
- Hot Pepper Jelly (Check out this Merlot Cherry Habanero Jelly from Food Wine Sunshine)
- Toothpicks
Yes!! EASY to assemble and fun to make!
How to make these bacon wrapped meatballs on your smoker or Traeger
I grabbed a bag of homestyle meatballs out of the freezer section because that is one thing I don’t make. We used the bacon Mike made himself but any package of bacon will do. These were small meatballs so just cut the piece of bacon in half and lay them out on foil lined baking sheet. Add a meatball to each half slice of bacon.
Use as many meatballs to bacon ratio that your package has. Next roll them up and stick a toothpick through the bacon and meatball.
Next sprinkle the bacon wrapped meatballs with your seasonings of choice. I used a BBQ Rub from Meat Church Seasonings. Then place the entire baking sheet in the pre heated smoker/ grill.
Close the lid and let smoke at 225 degrees for about one and a half hours. Check them and see how the bacon is looking.
Since the meatballs are already cooked, we are just looking to see how the bacon is. SO once the bacon is cooked to your liking, prepare your glaze.
For the hot pepper jelly glaze
I just tossed some hot pepper jelly in a bowl and microwaved it until it was brush-able. If you want you can just brush some BBQ sauce on these as well. But open the lid of the Smoker/BBQ and brush on the glaze over each bacon wrapped meatball. Close the lid and let them smoke a little longer until the glaze is hot.
Serve these Hot Pepper Jelly Smoked Meatballs hot and enjoy! Perfect for or an appetizer, or we actually ate them as a main dish with some cheddar rice, or mac and cheese would be good, too!
Make Sure to PIN IT!
What kind of pellets to use?
We have been using Traeger’s Signature Blend for the last few things we have cooked, but whatever flavor floats your boat!
FOLLOW ALONG!
Hot Pepper Jelly Smoked Meatballs
Equipment
- toothpicks
- Smoker or Grill
Ingredients
- 8 slices of bacon (or as many in your package) cut in half
- 16 frozen homestyle meatballs thawed or slightly thawed
- BBQ Rub or seasonings of choice
- 1/2 cup hot pepper jelly or favorite BBQ Sauce
Instructions
- Pre- heat smoker to 225 degrees.
- Lay out the bacon halves onto a foil lined baking sheet or aluminum pan and place one meatball onto each slice.
- Roll the bacon around the meatball and insert a toothpick to hold in place.
- Sprinkle with BBQ Rub or seasonings of choice.
- Place the pan in the smoker and let smoke for about an hour and a half until the bacon is cooked.
- Place hot pepper jelly in a bowl and microwave so that it can be brushed.
- Brush the bacon and meatballs with hot pepper jelly and let smoke another 10-15 minutes until the glaze is warm.
- Serve hot and Enjoy!
Notes
Follow along on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, or Twitter!
Like this recipe? Make sure to check out some other fun smoked appetizers!
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