BBQ Spaghetti?

Yeah, I said bbq spaghetti! Now, I've heard about it before and seen it on food network shows about bbq restaurants down south, but I've never eaten it myself. I'm a big fan of spaghetti and of course bbq, but to have them together seemed quite strange. Well, trying new things is always the way to go. You never know what you'll like unless you try it.

As such, I pulled up a few recipes online to get a basis to work with. It seemed like they were all pretty much the same. The biggest different lies in what meat and sauce you choose. Being that this was the middle of the week before a big Holiday weekend I decided to use what I had available in my freezer & fridge.

I always like to put my own spin on things, so I pulled out some ground meats. Now the recipes say to use pork, beef or chicken and I'd love to use some leftover smoked meat...but that doesn't last long around here. What I decided to use is 1/2 pound ground chicken, 1/2 pound ground beef and 1 pound of ground venison (having hunters in the family pays off well). The mix of meats will give a great flavor and just enough fat.

Before we start, let's get all the stuff together. You will need the following items:
1 - 2 pounds meat (ground or cut into bite size pieces)
1t garlic powder
1t kosher salt
1T hickory flavored liquid smoke (unless using smoked meats)

1T olive oil
1t garlic salt
1/2 red onion, diced
3 1/2 C bbq sauce (we're using Doomer's Original "Q" Sauce)
1 pound spaghetti

I started off by browning the ground meats in a large skillet. While the meat is browning, add the garlic powder, salt and liquid smoke. Now I want to address something about liquid smoke. I know that there are a lot of people who frown on it, but since I'm not using smoked meats, it is a great way to add that smokey flavor. I don't have a problem with liquid smoke since it is a natural product. Basically they just catch the heated smoke and let it condense into a liquid. Anyway, back to the recipe. Once the meat is browned, drain the fat and set the pan aside.

Grab a medium saute pan, heat up the olive oil and saute the red onion. Add the garlic salt and cook until the onion softens. Add the bbq sauce and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer.

Combine the sauce with the meat that was set aside earlier and continue to simmer. While the sauce is simmering, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the spaghetti and cook until it is Al Dente (firm, not hard). Drain the water and return the spaghetti to the pot.

Add the sauce/meat mixture to the spaghetti and mix thoroughly. Serve immediately and enjoy!

This was definitely a great dish and I encourage you to try it. The flavor started off a little sweet followed by the smokey flavor of the meat and finished with a little spicey note. I made more than we could eat with this recipe, but it's so good, I'll deal with the leftovers quickly....in fact I think I'm going to have some more for lunch now! "Q" it up!

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!!!