Traeger Smoked Meatballs

If you haven't taken the time to do meatballs on your grill, you are in for huge surprise. The first time I made these I could not believe it took me so long to try them. I immediately began to think of all the tailgates these would have been perfect at. They have incredible flavor, both smoky and rich. These are Italian based, but you can also dress them up to your own preference.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pound ground chuck, 80% lean

• 1/2 pound ground pork

These measurements don't have to be exact, just close to the same ratio. I typically use whatever the they have already packaged, as long as the ratio is close to 1:3 pork to beef. The rest of the ingredients are for a total protein weight of 2-2 1/2 pounds.

• 3 slices white bread

• 1/2 cup milk

• 1 cup Parmesan Cheese

• 2 tbsp dried parsley

• 2 tsp garlic powder

• 1/4 tsp dried oregano

• 1 tsp Kosher Salt

• 1 tsp black pepper

Instructions

1. Remove the crusts from the 3 slices of white bread

2. Tear the bread into pieces (each slice into about 8-16 pieces) and place in a large bowl

3. Add the milk to the bowl, ensuring it mostly gets absorbed into the bread

4. Allow the bread to absorb the milk for 5 minutes

5. Squeeze out excess milk from the bread, and discard any remaining milk from the bowl. Return the bread to the empty bowl. It is okay if the bowl is not completely dry

6. Add to the bowl: ground chuck, ground pork, parmesan cheese, parsley, garlic powder, dried oregano, salt and pepper

7. Using your hands mix all of these ingredients together. I try to get the bread as equally distributed to the mixture as possible (for me, the bread is the best part; my mom used to do it with meatloaf and I adapted it here)

8. Using your hands start forming the mixture into balls. You can do whatever size you like depending on the need. I typically do them about 1 inch

9. Set your grill to 350° (I have had great results with a pellet grill)

10. Place meatballs directly on the grates

11. I usually start checking the internal temp after about 20 minutes

12. Remove from grill as soon as the internal temp reaches 160°

13. Let them rest for 5 minutes

14. As an option, you can place them in a foil roast pan, cover in marinara sauce and place back on the smoker for another 5-10 minutes. This works well for meatball subs

You can do all sorts of things with these meatballs: add them to spaghetti, make meatball subs, but one of my favorites is to brush them with BBQ sauce and throw them back on the grill for a few minutes. Place some toothpicks in them and they make an amazing appetizer.