Bison Stuffed Shotgun Shells

Be: Chef Steve Squier

Serves: 6-10 people

This is a fun recipe for the family to and a great appetizer for your next party invite. It may seem odd to not cook the pasta a head of time but there is enough moisture in the mix and bacon to make the pasta tender. Smokey bacon and spices are a great compliment to the rich bison flavour. These shells can be a canvas for any flavours so have fun and experiment with that you like.

Ingredients:

2lb Ground Bison

2 cup Yellow Onion, small dice

2 cloves Garlic

1 large Jalapeno

2 cup Pepper Jack Cheese, shredded

250g Cream Cheese

2-3 lb Bacon

2 box/500g Cannelloni Pasta Shells, oven ready

2 can Rotel Diced Tomato

1 400ml can Tomato puree

1 cup Your Favourite BBQ Sauce

¼ cup Bison Ridge BBQ Spice Mix

Method:

1. Small dice your onion, garlic and jalapeno. You can also use a food processor and pulse them until fine chopped.
2. In a large bowl you will combine the ground bison, chopped onions, garlic, jalapeno, cream cheese, Bison Ridge Farms BBQ Spice and pepper jack cheese. Mix until everything is thoroughly combined.
3. Stuff the raw pasta shells with the bison mix, make sure there are no air pockets in the shells. Note: if you are not using oven ready shells, you can par boil the noodles for half the time listed on the box.
4. Next wrap each shell in a strip of bacon.
5. In a baking dish, line the bottom with the mix of puree tomato and Rotel. Place, uncovered in a 300-degree F oven and cook for 1 hour
6. After 1 hour brush the bacon with your favourite BBQ sauce and turn the oven up to 375 degrees and cook for another 30min or until the bacon is crisp.

Alternative Cooking

1. Preheat the smoker to 250-degrees and place the on the middle rack and cook for 1 ½ hours.
2. Brush the bacon with BBQ sauce and continue cooking for another hour.

Chef`s Notes

These Stuffed “shotgun shells” can make a great meal when they are braised with tomato and peppers and served with your favourite salad. These also make a great appetizer served with some BBQ sauce for dipping.

The bison mix can be made ahead of time and kept in the freezer for up to 2 months.

Have fun with the stuffing and try adding different flavours, smoked cheese, bell peppers, more spice if you want it hotter. Just a few ideas to play with and enjoy.