MOINK Balls

I've started seeing posts, tweets, etc for MOINK Balls and to be honest, I'd never heard of them before, so I did a little research. Turns out that it's basically meatballs (moo) wrapped in bacon (oink). The one thing I did notice is that most of the recipes called for Pre-made Italian seasoned meatballs...hmm. Well, for those of you who know me, I did what I always do...I made my own...no pre-made meatballs here!

Ok, here's what you need:

1 lb ground beef
1 lb thick cut bacon
3 T of your favorite rub (plus more for sprinkling)
Bottle of your favorite bbq sauce

In a large bowl, combine the rub and ground beef. Mix well.

Form into 24 - 1 in. meatballs...

Take bacon slices and cut in half...

Wrap each meatball with one of the half slices of bacon and secure it with a toothpick.

Now sprinkle them with the remaining rub, coating one side, then turning and coating the other.

You can use a smoker, but I used an indirect heat method on the grill. Get the grill hot and move the coals to one side. I added some hickory chips for flavor. Place MOINK Balls on the grill.

Once it starts to caramelize on one side, turn them over and allow to cook through.

You will get some flare up for any that are close to the coals as the juices drip. Just keep an eye on them, so they don't burn. After they've cooked on both sides, glaze with your favorite bbq sauce. For ours, of course, we used Original Doomer's "Q" Sauce.

Once the sauce caramelizes on one side, flip 'em and sauce 'em again. Let that sit a few more minutes on the heat and you've got yourself an Awesome appetizer!

Remove them from the grill and enjoy. Don't forget to remove the toothpick before you eat it. Remember, Just "Q" it!

**wanted to add in a big thanks to Larry Gaian (@BBQGrail) for creating these!!!