Smokey. Savory. Sweet. Spicy. Move over cheese and crackers. There’s a new app in town. The best part of Thanksgiving is no longer watching the Lions lose. Welcome to TGD!
Today we’ve got a new twist on a fan favorite. We’re making smoked turkey shots. Inspired by pig shots, these shot-glass sized holders are made out of bacon and turkey sausage, filled with apple stuffing and topped with a sweet n spicy cranberry sauce.
I’m going to start by making the shot cups. The first step is to slice my turkey kielbasa into ½ to ¾ inch thick coins. It doesn’t have to be exact, just big enough to stick a toothpick through. These will serve as the base of our Turkey shots.
The sides consist of medium- or thick-cut bacon. The only prep needed here is to unthaw it and cut it in half. Yes, I said “unthaw”. I’m from Wisconsin. Get over it.
To assemble the shot cups, take one piece of the sliced Turkey kielbasa and one slice of bacon. Wrap the bacon around the kielbasa, overlapping the end slightly. Then stick a toothpick through the bacon and kielbasa coin to hold it together. Set them aside while preparing the stuffing.
For the filling, start by making the stuffing. I’m keeping it simple and using a boxed stove-top stuffing mix. Don’t “at” me. These taste delicious and I have too many kids to make it from scratch. But if that’s YOUR thing, go right ahead. Bonus: I FINALLY found a use for my grill’s side burner!
Peel and dice one large apple into ½-inch size chunks. I actually had the idea for this appetizer because my mom gave me 30lbs of apples and I needed to get creative. Thanks Mom! Mix the diced apple into the stuffing.
Here’s where it all starts coming together. Taking the apple stuffing filling – or is it filling stuffing? Either way. Take it and scoop a spoonful into each bacon shot cup. Fill them all the way up! There isn’t a perfect way to do this part. You can try piping it from a ziplock bag, but don’t overcomplicate it.
Once all the shots are filled, lightly season them with your favorite BBQ rub. Today I’m using Meat Church’s Honey Hog. You’ll notice I have the shots on a wire rack. That makes it easier for moving them on and off the grill.
I’m cooking these on my Green Mountain Grills Ledge pellet grill. It’s pre-heated to 250°F. They’ll need to cook for about two hours. But, they’re done when the bacon gets to your preferred crispiness. Since I’m a more-crispy guy, I’ll let them go a bit extra. We ARE going to check back in 45 minutes though to add our sauce topping.
Besides politics and religion, cranberries are the most divisive part of Thanksgiving. If you hate them, skip this step. In a pot, add 1 can cranberry sauce, ¼ cup water, 1 ½ tablespoon brown sugar, ½ tsp cinnamon, and a pinch of cayenne pepper. Whisk it together over medium heat. I found that upgrading from plain cranberries to this sweet and spicy mixture really improved the Turkey shots.
Time to add the cranberry sauce. Scoop a dollop onto each shot. Barbeque sauce can be used instead if you’re on team Never Cranberry. Mmmm these smell SO good.
After about another 1 hour and 15 minutes, the bacon is the exact crispiness I love. Time to take these off the grill and let them cool for 15 minutes. After that, I’m going to eat at least two! ENJOY!
Jump to Section
Smoked Turkey Shots
Ingredients
- 1 turkey kielbasa cut into 1/2" thick coins
- 1/2 lbs thick cut bacon cut in half
- 6 oz stove-top stuffing prepared according to the package instructions
- 1 large apple diced
- BBQ Rub we used Meat Church Honey Hog
Cranberry Sauce
- 1 can cranberry sauce
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 1/2 Tbsp brown sugar
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- pinch cayenne pepper
Instructions
- Preheat grill or smoker to 250°F.
- Slice the turkey kielbasa into ½ to ¾ inch thick coins. Cut the thawed bacon in half.
- Take one piece of the sliced Turkey kielbasa and one slice of bacon. Wrap the bacon around the kielbasa, overlapping the end slightly.
- Then stick a toothpick through the bacon and kielbasa coin to hold it together. Set them aside while preparing the stuffing.
- Prepare the stuffing mix per the box instructions.
- Peel and dice one large apple into ½-inch size chunks. Mix the diced apple into the stuffing.
- Take a spoonful of the apple-stuffing mixture and place it into each shot cup. Fill them all the way up!
- Once all the shots are filled, lightly season them with your favorite BBQ rub.
- Place the shots on a wire rack for ease of moving them on and off the grill. Place them on the grill.
- After 45 minutes, add a dollop of cranberry sauce to the top of each turkey shot. Let cook for another 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until the bacon is at your desired level of crispiness.
- Remove from grill and allow to cool for 15 minutes. ENJOY!
