Moink Balls - Meatballs

[gregbooras]

I want to thank Jason for posting the original recipe, I made some adjustments and they were impressive.

I have been making my families Greek meatballs for over 30 years and these are so much better and super juicy.

Smoked Moink Balls
Yields about 44 meatballs
Ingredients
2.5 lbs. ground hamburger (73/27 blend)
2 eggs
¾ cup panko bread crumbs
2 t minced garlic
2 t onion powder
1 t salt
2 t ground black pepper
2 T Moore’s marinade (or Worcester sauce)
¼ cup grated pecorino/Romano cheese
1 T Cholula Chipotle Hot Sauce (or your favorite hot sauce)
My BBQ spice (or your favorite BBQ seasoning)
BBQ sauce
1 lb. bacon (cut in half)
Toothpicks
Wood
2 oz. wine barrel oak chunks

Directions
In a large bowl hand mix all ingredients except BBQ sauce, BBQ spice and bacon. Hand roll into small balls about 1.5” in size. Next wrap with one half slice of bacon and then secure with a toothpick. Season the meatballs lightly with the BBQ spice.
Place in smoker on the upper racks and set smoker to 225 degrees. Smoke for 2 hours, remove and cover with BBQ sauce and then return to smoker. Increase heat to 250 degrees and smoke for another 30 minute or until the bacon with crispy.

*Note for this batch I only wrapped 12 meatballs, the rest I put in with this batch on another rack and only smoked for 1 hour. These I will freeze and use at a future date.




Greg

 

[RG]

Looks like a winner to me Greg! Nicely done sir

 

[gregbooras]

Looks like a winner to me Greg! Nicely done sir

Hey Jason,

Thanks for giving me the idea, two days ago I could not even spell Moink and I still can't

Greg

 

[RG]

Hahaha, you're very welcome. I am glad I was useful for once around here ;D

 

[SuperDave]

I'm on board to try them too.  What do you think about the idea of putting multiple meat balls with spacing on a shish kabob stick? 

 

[gregbooras]

I'm on board to try them too.  What do you think about the idea of putting multiple meat balls with spacing on a shish kabob stick?

No problem, I would add a bit of space so the bacon can brown.

Greg

 

[DivotMaker]

Very well-done, Greg!  Those look great!  I love the idea of multiples on a skewer, but the individual toothpick models are probably better for an appetizer tray (imo).  Save the skewer moinks for when they're just for the fam!

 

[gregbooras]

I am also thinking about trying some with some Teriyaki BBQ sauce for a bit of Asian flare.

Greg

 

[RG]

I am also thinking about trying some with some Teriyaki BBQ sauce for a bit of Asian flare.

Greg

Oooh, that sounds interesting! Maybe a little fresh ginger and sesame seeds can join the party!

 

[gregbooras]

I am also thinking about trying some with some Teriyaki BBQ sauce for a bit of Asian flare.

Greg

Oooh, that sounds interesting! Maybe a little fresh ginger and sesame seeds can join the party!

Good idea on the ginger and sesame seeds!

Greg

 

[Grampy]

To Greg or Jason:

These moink balls sound delicious and I am going to put this on my to try list. When you put them in the smoker do you place them directly on the smoker rack or do you cook them in an aluminum pan?

 

[gregbooras]

To Greg or Jason:

These moink balls sound delicious and I am going to put this on my to try list. When you put them in the smoker do you place them directly on the smoker rack or do you cook them in an aluminum pan?

I put them right on the rack, I made them about 1.5" diameter round.

Greg

 

[SuperDave]

I'm still concocting my recipe.  As of now, cilantro will be my zing ingredient. 

 

[gregbooras]

I'm still concocting my recipe.  As of now, cilantro will be my zing ingredient.

Keep us posted.

Greg

 

[coachB]

I tried both Jason's and Greg's recipes for Moinks and unfortunately it's back to the drawing board.  They were probably the most disappointing smoke I have done on my #3.  They were the driest meat to come out of my smoker that I have experienced.  Both recipes look to be perfect and I followed them to the letter.  When I pulled them they did not look like their moinks to be sure.  They were dark, not that reddish color from their pics.  I used my auber to 225 for 1.5, brushed them with sauce, back in to the 2.0 mark.  Temp held steady throughout the smoke, done with apple and cherry.

The ground beef was chuck with a mix of 73/27.  The only thing I can figure was the culprit was the beef.  Had to be a bad cow.  On occasion we can get a bad ingredient that can mess up a smoke.  Chalked up as a learning experience.  I am definitely going to give these recipes another shot because they look too good to not work out.

 

[gregbooras]

I tried both Jason's and Greg's recipes for Moinks and unfortunately it's back to the drawing board.  They were probably the most disappointing smoke I have done on my #3.  They were the driest meat to come out of my smoker that I have experienced.  Both recipes look to be perfect and I followed them to the letter.  When I pulled them they did not look like their moinks to be sure.  They were dark, not that reddish color from their pics.  I used my auber to 225 for 1.5, brushed them with sauce, back in to the 2.0 mark.  Temp held steady throughout the smoke, done with apple and cherry.

The ground beef was chuck with a mix of 73/27.  The only thing I can figure was the culprit was the beef.  Had to be a bad cow.  On occasion we can get a bad ingredient that can mess up a smoke.  Chalked up as a learning experience.  I am definitely going to give these recipes another shot because they look too good to not work out.

Bill,

Sorry to hear that, I hate when things I cook/smoke don't turn out. To be honest I was really surprised how well they turnout, since I smoked them so long. But they were juicy and tasted great, I have some in the freezer that I plan to do next week.

Maybe just bad meat like you said.

Greg

 

[SuperDave]

Bill, what did the bacon look like?  I would have thought it would have kept if not added moisture.  Ground chuck might not have had enough fat content.  As I'm developing my recipe for this, I'm planning a mix of ground beef and pork sausage. 

 

[RG]

I used 80/20 chuck and they were juicy. I didn't do mine on my SI though so I will defer to Greg on any insights as far as that goes. I hope the next batch turns out well for you

 

[gregbooras]

Not sure what you used for bread crumbs, but I used ¾ cup panko bread crumbs with the thought it would hold more tender. 

If you noticed in my batch I did the following:
*Note for this batch I only wrapped 12 meatballs, the rest I put in with this batch on another rack and only smoked for 1 hour. These I will freeze and use at a future date.

The batch that went for one hour were juicy, but the ones wrapped in bacon were even more so. I wonder if the meat they gave you really was a 73/27 mix?

Greg

 

[swthorpe]

I used 80/20 and followed RG's recipe...2 hours but removed for sauce at 1.5 hours.  I smoked them at 225F.  They were not overly juicy, but with the sauce they were moist.