Barbecued Spicy Meat-a-balls

As many times as I've heard people say "dat's a spicy meat-a-ball," I've never found myself formidably confronted with a meatball that was actually spicy.  So, I decided to fix that.

These are some of the best meatballs you will ever have.  The smoke flavor and smoke ring that forms inside these, after only about 1.5 hours of smoking, is incredible.  Additionally, the recipe may appear as a lot of steps, but it's just a series of common-sensey small steps.  You won't regret trying this.


Note: feel free to mix ground beef with ground pork.

MEATBALL INGREDIENTS:

3.5 lbs ground beef (80/20)

1 tsp soy sauce

1 tsp hot smoked paprika

2 eggs

1 tsp black pepper

4 tbsp unseasoned bread crumbs

2-3 finely chopped small, hot green chilis

5 cloves chopped roasted garlic (or 3 cloves raw garlic)

1 tsp dry oregano, or handful chopped fresh oregano

SAUCE INGREDIENTS:

3 tbsp Green Chili Hot Sauce, or your favorite not-too-insane hot sauce

3 tbsp ketchup

1 tbsp red wine vinegar

2 tbsp honey

**To make sauce, simply whisk these ingredients together - no need to simmer or cook them!

STEPS:

1. Mix paprika, salt, oregano, and pepper together in a large bowl until blended.

2. Add soy sauce, eggs, garlic, and chilis, and whisk until blended.

3. Add ground beef, mixing up with hands.

4. Add bread crumbs and mix again until all ingredients are well incorporated.  Form meat into an oval-ball, kind of like a gigantic burger.

5. Let sit in fridge for a few hours, then start lighting a chimneyful of coals and soaking wood chunks.

6. Form large, evenly round meatballs, about half fist-sized.

7. Once coals are lit and wood chunks are in, place meatballs ontop of grill grate.

8. Position vents of smoker to obtain a temp of about 275 degrees F.  Smoke for about 1.5 hours, or until thoroughly cooked through to about 160 degrees F.

9. Put meatballs into a bowl, drizzle with sauce, and let rest for about 5 minutes before serving.  Enjoy with herbed garlic toast and roasted root vegetables.