My family loves them but I find they’re not as good as they look. They’re good but I don’t know if they’re worth the hassle.

I came to same conclusion. I didn't hate them but my wife and I agreed that bacon wrapped stuffed jalapenos are better bite food. Not hating on ya OP, it's awesome you tried it and if you like it then that's all that matters!

Slide a stuffed jalapeno inside the manicotti?

Continue…

These seem to fall into the category of “recipe for the sake of presentation” rather than “recipe with an interesting presentation.” Like don’t get me wrong, this is an ingenious vehicle and likely delicious, but I’m just not sure what it’s trying to accomplish. Beef and sausage smoked with bbq sauce and a small amount of pasta just doesn’t check off any boxes for me. It just seems like it would be sooo much easier to make a smoked bbq meatball to go with pasta instead.

I make the jumbo shells stuffed with manwich, and then bake some cheese on top. My kids love them. These would probably go over well in my house.

They would be a good party trick

I concur, hard to beat the jalapeño popper you can find premade almost anywhere

They don't look good to begin with

I disagree. They look delicious. They taste good too. But they don’t hit every single flavor note.

That’s what I seem to keep hearing about these.

They’re really good. Don’t get me wrong. But they’re not as good as they look. Honestly they may be better in the oven.

Can’t speak to the taste but reading the recipe op left this looks like hours of work for not a big payoff.

Tell me more about these shotgun shells. What are they and how did they turn out?

They are tasty Manicotti Stuffing 1 lb 80-20 burger 1 lb country sausage 1/2 lb extra sharp cheddar Seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic, a little cayenne Wrapped w bacon Set in refrigerator 4 hrs. min. Smoke about an hour Flip em Smoke another hour Sauce 2 parts ketchup 1 part ea mustard, molasses, Frank's, Worcestershire, whiskey Sauce em Smoke 20 mins Sauce em. Smoke 20 mins

Do you cook the manicotti first? Or does it soften up enough from the grease?

Grease and the holding time between stuffing and cooking

I've read that prepping and letting it sit in the fridge overnight before smoking helps soften the manicotti shell? Going to try these this weekend, maybe add some chopped jalapenos to meat mixture. Thanks for the inspiration!

In my experience overnight in the fridge with meat inside/bacon wrapped did not soften the shell anywhere near what I would call edible after cooking. I would par-boil the shells but I don't know how long or temp.

Typically manicotti noodle shells stuffed with a ground meat mixture, wrapped in bacon, and sauced before the end of the cook. I’ve had them and they’re good just a pain to put together.

I made these for a Thanksgiving appetizer, they turned out just as I wanted but I wasn't a huge fan. Probably most disappointing thing I've made on my smoker

Is the manicotti cooked prior to stuffing?

No. When smoking the juice from the meat and the bacon is absorbed and softens the noodles. It's like a no boil lasagna recipe

The hold time is a factor too

Yes, and they seem better when prepared a day before smoking. Rest in fridge

Reheat how?

No, you assemble the day before. It lets the ingredients meld and some of the juice soaks into the noodles to let them soften even faster. Assemble, rest then cook/smoke. If you are asking how I reheat leftovers, usually the microwave. https://youtu.be/aqcVf_XUCag

I'll be stupid and admit that I have no idea what this is.

Some ribs and some tasty treats. Recipe is in the comments

Alright cowboy

Those ribs are making me hungry

They were pretty good

Im glad

Wow looks good

I don’t know what they are but I’ll have a couple

I tried these. Half were great, and half of them were terrible. Definitely not worth the effort.

Need more cheese, grate and gratin a layer of parmesan on it?

Those burnt ends look delicious!

I like the end of the ribs