Philly Cheesesteak Meatballs on the Pellet Grill
These Philly cheesesteak meatballs are a creative twist on our classic smoked meatballs recipe. Stuffed with American cheese and smoked on the pellet grill for extra flavor, these Philly-style meatballs are loaded with flavor and cheesy goodness!
Servings: 16 meatballs
Ingredients
- 1 lb 80/20 ground beef
- 1 lb beef, pork, veal blend *See notes
- 1 cup fresh breadcrumbs *See notes
- ½ medium onion, grated about ½ cup
- 1 egg
- ½ cup milk
- 3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 jalapeno, seeded and finely diced optional
- 1½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 8 ounce American cheese block cut into 16 cubes *See notes
- all-purpose seasoning of your choice
- Cheez Whiz or cheese sauce, for serving *See notes
Instructions
- Heat pellet grill or smoker to 250℉ with your choice of wood or pellets.
- In a large mixing bowl, mix together the egg, milk, Worcestershire sauce, minced garlic, diced jalapeno, salt, and pepper until well combined. Then mix in the breadcrumbs, grated onion, ground beef, and ground beef/pork/veal blend. Use your hands or a wooden spoon to incorporate all of the ingredients together. Allow the mixture to sit in the refrigerator for 30 minutes for all of the ingredients to come together and the breadcrumbs to soak up some of the moisture.
- While the meatball mixture is resting, oil a wire cooling rack with non-stick cooking spray or a paper towel with a few drops of cooking oil. Set aside.
- Use a cookie scoop or measuring cup to portion out about ⅓ cup of the meat mixture. Place one cube of cheese inside the meat mixture, and roll it in the palms of your hands to form a ball. Take care to completely cover the cheese cube. Repeat until all of the meatballs are stuffed with cheese and formed into balls. *You should have 16 meatballs. TIP - We used 3 level scoops of a 2 tablespoon cookie scoop to portion out our meat quickly and easily.
- Sprinkle the meatballs with your favorite all-purpose seasoning, and transfer to the wire cooling rack, evenly spaced. *We used Shake That All-Purpose Seasoning.
- Place the wire cooling rack with the meatballs on the indirect heat side of the grill. Smoke at 250℉ until the internal temperature of the meatballs reaches 160℉ as read by an instant read meat thermometer. *Our meatballs took about 2 hours and 30 minutes to reach 160℉ internal temp, but cooking times will vary based on your pellet grill and the size of your meatballs.
- When the Philly meatballs are almost done smoking, prepare the cheese sauce. Either heat Cheez Whiz in a small saucepan (mixed with about 2 tablespoons of milk if you wish), or make the homemade cheese sauce. *See notes.
- When smoked meatballs reach the proper internal temp, remove from the smoker or grill and transfer to a serving platter. Drizzle with cheese sauce and serve warm.
Video
Notes
- Beef, pork, veal blend – Our recipe calls for one pound of a beef, pork, and veal blend specifically made for meatloaf or meatballs. You should be able to find this in the meat case of most grocery stores labeled as “Meatloaf” or “Meatball” blend. If you can’t find the blend that we used, then you can substitute extra 80/20 ground beef.
- For the breadcrumbs - We made fresh breadcrumbs by pulsing one deli hoagie roll in a food processor (our nod to Philly). You can substitute 1 cup plain dried breadcrumbs or rolled quick cooking oats if you wish.
- Forming the meatballs – We highly recommend using a quick-release cookie scoop for portioning out the meatball mixture. We used a 2 tablespoons cookie scoop to scoop out three scoops of the meatball mixture – so each ball was roughly 1/3 cup.
- For the American cheese - We have tried this recipe with a provolone cheese block (another classic Philly cheese), but we prefer to stuff the meatballs with American cheese. You can get an 8 ounce block of American cheese freshly sliced from the deli counter.
- For the cheese sauce - Cheez Whiz is a classic choice for Philly cheesesteaks, but we prefer our own homemade cheese sauce because it is not as sharp. *If using Cheez Whiz, we recommend heating 1 to 1-1/2 cups in a small saucepan with about 1/4 cup of milk or half & half to thin it out a bit. For our cheese sauce, add 1/2 cup heavy cream to a small saucepan and heat over medium-low heat until just before boiling. Then stir in 2 slices American cheese and 4-6 ounces shredded sharp cheddar cheese until melted.