Smoked Spicy Jalapeño Cheddar Meatballs

Spicy Jalapeño Cheddar Meatballs

Total Time: about 3 hours                           Yield : 60 meatballs

Ingredients

5 pounds ground beef 

1 large egg

2 ½ cups prepared stove top stuffing

2 x 8oz blocks of cheddar, shredded 

8 fresh jalapeños, finely diced  

2 tablespoons coarse kosher salt

4 tablespoons onion powder

4 tablespoons fresh chives, chopped 

2 tablespoons garlic powder

2 tablespoons black pepper

2 tablespoons paprika

2 teaspoons chili powder

1 can beer – for the smoker

hickory chips

Directions 

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl. I used my kitchen aid mixer which worked great for this recipe. Once all ingredients have been mixed weigh meatballs into approximately 3 ounce balls. You should end up with about 60 meatballs. Put the meatballs into disposable pans. Preheat your smoker to 225 degrees. Open the vent  about 3/4 so the smoke and the air can circulate. Once your smoker has reached 225 degrees put the pans with the meatballs in the smoker.  A pan with liquid should be added to the smoker as well. I like using a can of beer. I love the results. You can absolutely use water or different types of juices as well if you don’t want to use beer. Place hickory chips in the smoker and close the door. I used about 4 hands full of chips to my smoker over the entire smoking time. Smoke until the meatballs reach an internal temperature of 160 degrees. It took about 2 ½ hours for mine.