POINK Balls!

POINK Balls!

Wha wha what?  What in the wide world of sports is a POINK Ball?  It all started when I saw a recipe on The BBQ Grail.  The recipe was for MOINK Balls - Moo + Oink = MOINK - basically the recipe called for (beef) meatballs wrapped in bacon and smoked slow and low.  Sounded great to me!  Tried it!  Possibly one of the best things I've ever put in my.... er.... they were awesome!

Lately I've been kinda more picky about my meats.  I'd like to get as fresh as possible and know what's in my meat.  Ground Beef can be anything - ground chuck is better - it has to be what it says on the label - ground beef is - well - beef - honestly, that sounds kinda generic.  Back to the story.

No ground chuck.  Drat!  There goes my whole idea of MOINK Balls.  Wait a minute - what about ground pork?  I'm already wrapping these bad boys in bacon so obviously, I'm down with pork.  Would they be called OINK Balls?  POINK just sounds funner.....  So.....

Ground Pork - 2.5lbs
Bacon - Thick Cut - 1lb
Seasoning - whatever you think would work!

I added about 6 table spoons of Kirkland (Costco) Sweet Mesquite Seasoning to the ground pork.  You can use whatever meatball recipe you have but I was keeping it simple.  No bread crumbs, no eggs, nothing special.  I was worried that the meatballs would fall apart but they didn't.  This worked fine.

 I tried to form the meatballs into 1oz balls but they kept getting bigger as I went so instead of fighting my urge, I rolled with it.  They ended up around 2oz I'm guessing - a little bigger than golf balls.

 I cut the bacon pack in half and wrapped each meatball with a 1/2 piece of bacon.

Upon further inspection, you can see that I did not mix the Sweet Mesquite into the ground pork very well.  Next time I promise to do better.

 I thought adding another layer of flavor wouldn't hurt - since I didn't mix the Sweet Mesquite in too well, this would add another pop of flavor - Simply Marvelous Cherry Rub.  Steph from Simply Marvelous doesn't pay me (he should) for these comments so straight from my heart - buy his products!  You will NOT be disappointed!  All of his dry rubs are - well - Simply Marvelous!

 I put a healthy amount of the Cherry rub on each POINK Ball - then I flipped them over for another coat.

 Don't be shy with the dry rub!










I smoked the POINK Balls on my Royall 3000 Pellet Grill @ 225 F.

Disclaimer - Meat, Inc. BBQ Team is proudly sponsored by Royall!

No Royall Pellet Grill yet?  You can cook these on any direct heat source: charcoal, gas grill, or even in the oven!



You might have noticed that I had a few pieces of bacon left over.  If I had made the meatballs the correct size, this probably wouldn't have happened - BUT - I'm not going to throw away the tastiest meat known to man.  Let's make a little Pig Candy!  Basically sprinkled some more Cherry Rub on both sides and put the strips of bacon on the grate.



After about 1 hour, I flipped all the POINK balls over.  Not really needed since I was cooking indirect but it's nice to see the grate marks on the meat.  After 1 hour the internal temp was about 145F.






After 2 hours or so, the internal temp was around 180F.  Overcooked for pork for sure but I wanted to make sure the bacon was completely done.  I was mostly determining the "doneness" by the look of the bacon but I like to take the temperature of my ......um..... I like to verify the temp of my .....er.... I have to see if the meat is done.



I plated the POINK Balls up with some Napa Cabbage Slaw topped with Pig Candy and a side of pork chops.  Now, that's a meal!

 I was a little worried that the pork meatball would be dry since the internal temp was so high but it was super juicy!  You can see the smoke ring penetrated almost all the way to the center.  You can also see my poor job if spice distribution in the ground pork but - I can't beat myself up forever!

Let's eat!

Moink Balls - sorry - MOINK Balls

MOINK Balls - one of the best snacks of all time. Easy - YES! Tasty - YES! Endless possibilities in sauces, and spices used - YES! Let's get busy!



MOINK Balls are a combination of Moo (cow = meatballs) and Oink (pig = bacon) - two tasty animals combined = MOINK Balls. I heard of these little treats for years but for some reason, never got the "balls" to put these together. Well.... long story short, I finally grabbed a pair (of meats) and made it happen!

Credit is due to a fella named Larry who has a blog / web site called The BBQ Grail. It is an awesome site that has tons of great ideas for BBQ, smoking, side dishes, and yes..... even salad (a salad is a bunch of green things tossed into a bowl - whatever). Here is the link to the full story as well as a fun story. See?!?! You can spice / flavor MOINK Balls outta just about anything!



Don't forget - there are only two main ingredients. I have made these with the frozen meatballs as well as making my own fresh. Honestly, I'm a bit lazy and the frozen is the way to go. At Costco you can get a 6lb bag of frozen meatballs and they seem to match up perfectly with 4lbs of bacon.

I cut the strips of bacon in half. If you use high quality bacon (Costco is OK but Farmer John Maple is my favorite) you can stretch the bacon while wrapping around the meatball and when you release, it contracts and sticks to itself. If you have lower quality bacon, make sure the meatballs are partially / completely thawed so you can use a tooth pick to ensure the bacon stays in place.

Sprinkle (heavily) with your favorite dry rub. This is where the personal taste comes in. I used Simply Marvelous Sweet and Spicy Rub. The Pecan Rub also rocks! You can use plain salt and pepper or let your imagination run wild!

I cooked these on my WSM 22.5 but have also cooked them on my Traegers. You could get away with them on a gasser as long as you cook them away from direct flame. Worse case you can cook them in your oven. I cooked these at 300F for about 90 minutes. I have cooked them at 225 - 250F for 120 minutes with no big difference in taste. Basically the bacon will cook the slowest - even if you use raw hamburger hand made meatballs. The frozen meatballs are obviously completely cooked. Make sure the bacon is completely cooked.

Finally put a squeeze of your favorite BBQ Sauce on top and let it drip and glaze over the MOINK Ball. Some people will roll the MOINK Balls around in a pan and completely cover the MOINK Balls in sauce and then put them back on the grate for a final glaze. Your call!

Finally! Let's eat! If I was going to make these for an appetizer for a party - an average person could eat about 4 - 5 if there were no other appetizers. If there were something else - you might get away with 3 - 4 each but don't blame me for any food riots!

Appetizers / Sides

Appetizers and Sides!

Normally you would use these recipes for a snack before the main meal but most of these are great for party snacks, tailgating, or the main course itself - but any of these are great for appetizers!




Atomic Buffalo Turds (ABT's) - Don't let the name fool you!  Once you make this tasty snack - it will be at the top of the request list!










Atomic Shrimp Boats - a twist on the ABT - for seafood lovers!











Armadillo Eggs - ABT hidden in the middle of a chorizo layer of goodness!








Smoked Brie and Figs - even the girls like this one!








MOINK Balls! - One of the best snacks in the world!







Pig Candy!  You won't believe your taste buds!







POINK Balls!  And you thought MOINK Balls were great!









Smoked Potato Chips - a million ways to make this one!










Shillelagh Sticks - Classic Irish snack!






Scotch Eggs - no booze but plenty of fun!









Stuffed Jewel Peppers - a huge crowd pleaser for all ages!

Smoked Salmon Bites - one of the tastiest treats known to man!

Ham & Cheese Roll Ups! - A Farmer John Challenge Snack.

808 State Fatty - The bacon explosion from Hawaii!








Farmer John Ham and Pea Pasta Salad - an easy recipe that makes the most of your left overs!

Smoked Stuffed Dates!

Stuffed Smoked Portobello Mushrooms