Moink Balls - Meatballs

[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. 

[gregbooras]

Maybe another factor is what temp the smoker really is smoking at. I know mine runs hot, so I would have thought it would have made the balls drier.

If this happened to me I would try again but only do a small batch to see how they turn out. It may be that in your smoker you need less time.

I also forgot to ask, how did the bacon turn out that they were wrapped in.

Did you use a water pan, I did.

Greg

[swthorpe]

The size of the meatball will be a factor...I think I ended up somewhere between a ping pong ball and golf ball.   I was trying not to make them too big, but the seemed about right for a full bite rather than needing two bites to finish it (although some did!).   I also gave them a healthy dose of sauce at the 1.5 hour mark.

[coachB]

As I said in my previous post, the auber held at 225 throughout the smoke.  I started with ping pong ball size but also had several that were a bit larger,  more of a traditional size meatball.  The bacon was started in the frying pan until the fat was rendered but still flexible enough to wrap easily.  After smoking the bacon part of the moink was fine, not like cinders that you would expect if the whole cook was overdone.  The breadcrumbs were plain unseasoned variety in the quantities recommended.

Has to be the meat.  I normally never use anything other than chuck or round when ground beef is called for, but I think for the next go I will try regular ground beef for the higher fat content.  I also think I might pull a little sooner and sample to find the right temp/time combination.  If underdone, back in smoker.

I will get this right.  I also think I may try Dave's suggestion of mixing beef and ground pork for the added fat content and flavor.  If at first you don't succeed, try, try again.

[gregbooras]

As I said in my previous post, the auber held at 225 throughout the smoke.  I started with ping pong ball size but also had several that were a bit larger,  more of a traditional size meatball.  The bacon was started in the frying pan until the fat was rendered but still flexible enough to wrap easily.  After smoking the bacon part of the moink was fine, not like cinders that you would expect if the whole cook was overdone.  The breadcrumbs were plain unseasoned variety in the quantities recommended.

Has to be the meat.  I normally never use anything other than chuck or round when ground beef is called for, but I think for the next go I will try regular ground beef for the higher fat content.  I also think I might pull a little sooner and sample to find the right temp/time combination.  If underdone, back in smoker.

I will get this right.  I also think I may try Dave's suggestion of mixing beef and ground pork for the added fat content and flavor.  If at first you don't succeed, try, try again.

Besides the bread crumb difference it sounds like you started the bacon in the frying pan and lost the fat. Thick sliced bacon right out of the package for this one. The fat keeps the meatball moist and cooks off.

I also agree about not using cheap ground beef, but it was on a super sale and the fat content helped also in the meatballs. But in my opinion if you are using beef at least 20 percent fat you should be good to go. 

Did you use a water pan?

I agree also mixing pork and beef would provide really good results.

Greg

[DivotMaker]

I bet the beef/pork mix would be killer!

[RG]

If you don't want to mix pork into the beef, you could always chop up raw bacon and put it into the beef as well as still wrap it with a half slice of raw bacon. Now THAT'S and idea, lol. Baconey (is that a word? It is now!) goodness

[DivotMaker]

If you don't want to mix pork into the beef, you could always chop up raw bacon and put it into the beef as well as still wrap it with a half slice of raw bacon. Now THAT'S and idea, lol. Baconey (is that a word? It is now!) goodness

New and innovative ways to incorporate MORE bacon into a cook is NEVER a bad thing!

[gregbooras]

I woke up early this morning on the two ideas came to me for help make the moink balls more tender.

For years I have been making ground Lamb Seekh Kebabs. For that recipe (2 lbs ground lamb meat) I add 1 1/4 sticks of melted butter 60/40 blend.

The other option is to fine cut up some onions and add to the meat, this will also help retain moisture and add a nice flavor to the balls.

Add a hunk of cheese in the center of each or mix up shredded cheese into the mixture.

Greg

[SuperDave]

Greg, I knew you were a brother from another mother.  I'm using grated cheese and chopped onion in mine. 

[gregbooras]

Greg, I knew you were a brother from another mother.  I'm using grated cheese and chopped onion in mine.

It's a small world you never know

Like minds!

Greg