Today I am pairing up with Wright Brand to make some amped up bacon-wrapped Nashville Hot Chicken Shotgun Shells. Grill some chicken thighs in a Nashville Hot Rub, then chop them up, and stuff them into some manicotti shells!
POST SPONSORED BY WRIGHT BRAND.
Table of Contents
They’re the perfect appetizer or they’re also even a great main course for a cookout. Wrap them in the Wright Brand Hickory Bacon and smoke until amber brown. I served mine with homemade ranch because ranch is always a winner in this household!
Why You’ll Love Nashville Hot Chicken Shotgun Shells
On game day, nothing hits the spot like some spice. Nashville Hot Chicken is the real deal! This recipe is a new twist on classic Nashville Hot Chicken recipes. It’s a must for anyone who loves stuffed shells, chicken, hot and sweet recipes, and best of all, bacon.
more On Nashville Hot Recipes
To turn up the heat, serve with some pepper shots with jalapeno juice, lime juice, and tequila!
Nashville Hot Chicken Shotgun Shells Ingredients
This recipe has requires some prep, but it’s worth it for this delicious meal for 4. It takes 30 minutes of prep time and then 2.5 hours of cook time.
First, you’ll coat some chicken thighs in canola oil, and then season them in a homemade Nashville Hot seasoning made of cayenne pepper, kosher salt, mustard powder, smoked paprika, brown sugar, and garlic powder.
The hot chicken will be added to some cream cheese and shredded cheddar cheese and piped into some manicotti shells. Then, you’ll wrap the shells in some hickory-flavored Wright Brand Bacon and glaze those with a mixture of Nashville Hot seasoning and honey.
We’ll finish by making some homemade ranch dressing to dip the shells in. My favorite recipe is made out of sour cream, mayonnaise, buttermilk, pickle juice, parsley, dill, kosher salt, black pepper, and garlic powder.
How to Make Nashville Hot Chicken Shotgun Shells
The Prep
Preheat your fire to a two zone medium high temperature (around 375F).
Add some oil to your chicken thighs and season thoroughly with the Nashville Hot Seasoning. Set to the side and add all the ingredients for the Homemade Ranch to a bowl and mix together. Set in the fridge until ready to serve.
Add your chicken over the hot side of the grill to sear for 2 minutes per side. Once seared, bring over to the cooler side of the grill and cook until 175F internal (about 20 minutes). When done, pull off, rest for 5 minutes then chop it up.
Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil. Add your manicotti shells to the water to cook for only 2.5-3 minutes (not fully cooked). They should retain most of their hardness and shape. When done, pull them out and let them cool for 10 minutes.
For more pasta like recipes, check out my Smoked Shotgun Shells, Steak and Cheesy Pasta and Creamy Cajun Shrimp Alfredo.
The Assembly
In a large bowl, mix together all the ingredients for the filling, plus the chopped Nashville Hot chicken. Then place it in a large plastic bag and cut off a small corner so that it is easier to pipe the filling into the pasta. Pipe the filling into the pasta shells and set them to the side once done.
Next, lay out a slice of Wright Brand Hickory Bacon and wrap completely around the pasta shell. However, leave the ends of the manicotti open. Don’t worry, the filling shouldn’t melt out. Mine didn’t, at least.
Do this for all the pasta shells and place on a rack once done. Finally, season the outside of the shells with more Nashville Hot Seasoning and place in the fridge for at least 2 hours but ideally 4 hours.
Pro Tip
Placing them in the fridge will help the filling stay put inside the manicotti. It also helps set the bacon, so don’t skip this step!
Cooking and Serving
Preheat your smoker for 250F indirect cooking. Add some wood chips or wood chunks for added smoke flavor if you desire.
Pull the shells out of the fridge and place on the smoker to cook for 1-1.5 hours. When the bacon is looking crispy and darkened, glaze the outside of the shells with some honey mixed with some of the Nashville Hot seasoning.
Continue cooking until the sauce has caramelized on the outside of the Nashville Hot Shotgun Shells. Once the shells are done, pull off and let cool for 10 minutes.
Slice and serve with the homemade ranch.
Enjoy!
Needing more spice in your life? My spice line can help with that. Check them out here.
Nashville Hot Chicken Shotgun Shells
Ingredients
Chicken:
- 3-4 Chicken Thighs
- Canola Oil as needed
Nashville Hot Seasoning:
- ½ cup Cayenne Pepper
- 2 tbsp Kosher Salt
- 1.5 tbsp Mustard Powder
- 1 tbsp Smoked Paprika
- 1 tbsp Brown Sugar
- 2 tsp Garlic Powder
Shells:
- 20-24 Wright Brand Bacon Hickory
- 10-12 Manicotti Shells
- ¼ cup Nashville Hot Seasoning
- 1 cup Honey for glaze
Filling:
- 1/4 cup Plain Cream Cheese
- 1/4 cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese
Homemade Ranch:
- 3 tbsp of Sour Cream
- 3 tbsp of Mayonnaise
- 2 tbsp of Buttermilk
- 1 tbsp of Pickle Juice
- 2 tsp of Parsley finely chopped
- 2 tsp of Dill finely chopped
- ½ tsp of Kosher Salt
- ½ tsp of Black Pepper
- ½ tsp of Garlic Powder
Instructions
- Preheat your fire to a two zone medium high temperature (around 375F).
- Add some oil to your chicken thighs and season thoroughly with the Nashville Hot Seasoning. Set to the side.
- Add all the ingredients for the Homemade Ranch to a bowl and mix together. Set in the fridge until ready to serve.
- Add your chicken over the hot side of the grill to sear for 2 minutes per side.
- Once seared, bring over to the cooler side of the grill and cook until 175F internal (about 20 minutes).
- When done, pull off, rest for 5 minutes then chop it up.
- Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil.
- Add your manicotti shells to the water to cook for only 2.5-3 minutes (not fully cooked). They should retain most of their hardness and shape.
- When done, pull them out and let them cool for 10 minutes.
- In a bowl, mix together all the ingredients for the filling, plus the chopped chicken.
- Place mixture in a large plastic bag and cut off a small corner so that it is easier to pipe the filling into the pasta.
- Pipe the filling into the past shells and set them to the side once done.
- Next, lay out a slice of Wright Brand Hickory Bacon and wrap completely around the pasta shell. Do this for all the pasta shells and place on a rack once done.
- Finally, season the outside of the shells with more Nashville Hot Seasoning and place in the fridge for at least 2 hours but ideally 4 hours.
- Preheat your smoker for 250F indirect cooking. Add some wood chips or wood chunks for added smoke flavor if you desire.
- Pull the shells out of the fridge and place on the smoker to cook for 1-1.5 hours.
- When the bacon is looking crispy and darkened, glaze the outside of the shells with some honey mixed with some of the Nashville Hot seasoning.
- Continue cooking until the sauce has become tacky and dried.
- Once the shells are done, pull off and let cool for 10 minutes.
- Slice, serve with the homemade ranch and enjoy!
Got my chicken cooking as we speak. I make sausage/burger shotgun shells all the time and I don’t cook the shells, i just make them the night before and throw them in the fridge. I find the bacon wrap softens the shells appropriately when you cook them the next day.