Moinks are delicious BBQ treats that are a family favorite. Here’s our fast, easy, beginner-friendly moink ball recipe that everyone will love at your next cookout.
- Difficulty: Easy
- Servings: 4+
- Prep time: 20 minutes
- Cooking time: Around 2 – 2.5 hours at 225°F
- Resting time: None
- Total time: Under 3 hours
Ingredients list:
- Sausage/pork meat, around 400g (an average pack)
- Beef mince meat, around 400g (an average pack), high fat content (at least 20%)
- Your favorite rub: alternatively, salt, pepper, garlic powder. We like Angus & Oink’s Pigasus
- A pack of bacon, preferably streaky – the thinner, the better
- Cheddar cheese, a medium to large block, or other variants (read on…)
- Cocktail sticks
- Optional: A BBQ sauce for glazing
What is a moink, you ask? Also known as a BBQ or bacon-wrapped meatball, this creation is widely credited to Larry Gaian. The name is a combination of “moo” for beef and “oink” for pig — giving you a hint of the key ingredients in this popular, delicious side dish.
They don’t take too long to make, and countless variations exist. But in our beginner section, we want to keep things as simple as possible — and even, with our moink ball recipe, this is something you can have kids help you out with to keep them occupied. You’ll find our simple moink ball recipe below and notes on variations.
INSTRUCTIONS:
1: Set your smoker to preheat at 225°F. Grab a mixing bowl and throw in your sausage meat and beef mince. While some recipes call for around a 40/60 split, we find it doesn’t matter too much.
2: Add a generous amount of rub. We like Angus and Oink’s Pigasus for a hit of honey and jalapeno, but you could also look at a simple salt-pepper-garlic mix, or another favorite for us is the Meat Church Honey Hog. We’ve also used Traeger’s Fin and Feather rub which was a hit!
3: Mix them well together.
4: Form your meatballs into roughly the size of a small golf ball and leave a few meatballs’ worth in the bowl. You don’t need to be too precise at this stage. Set the finished meatballs aside.
5: Cut your cheddar cheese into small cubes. Push a cube into the center of each meatball cover. You can use some of your spare meat if you need extra to seal the gap.
6: Now we move on to the bacon. Cut your rashers in half. Now, grab a blunt-edge knife (a butter knife is ideal) and lay your bacon strip flat. Gently, but firmly, run the blade the full length of the strip. This will thin out the bacon and give you more to work with, as well as a better and crispier result in the end.
7: Place a moink on the end of a bacon strip. Pick up the bacon strip and wrap your meatball in the bacon, securing everything with a cocktail stick.
8: Chuck them on the smoker and leave them for around two hours (internal temp 145°F (65°C)). If you would like to glaze them, this method works for us: around an hour and 20 minutes in, apply your first coat of glaze. Repeat every 20 minutes (so, three times).
9: Enjoy!
Variations: While we find cheddar always works well, two variations we like are by using gouda or manchego cheese with different rub combinations:
- Cheddar: Rubs: honey, jalapeno, simple SPG, BBQ sauce glaze
- Gouda: Rubs: Apple, with a runny honey glaze
- Manchego: A heavy garlic rub, or something spicy, hot sauce glaze
NOTES:
If you don’t have a smoker, put them in the oven until you reach an internal temperature of 145°F (65°C) and then finish them on your grill to crisp up the bacon.
Interested in more of our recipes and tips? Check out our dedicated BBQ Tech recipe section. have a favorite moink ball recipe? Let us know!
