I had a couple of leftover MOINK Balls in the refrigerator and while thinking about eating them it struck me that stuffing them inside a polenta ball and frying them would not be a bad thing.  And I was correct…

I cooked the polenta per the package instructions and let it cool in the refrigerator completely.  Then with oiled hands I formed the polenta around the MOINK Balls.  It worked with no problems at all.  I put the Polenta Balls in the fridge so they stayed cold and kept their shape while I cooked the pasta and made the tomato sauce.

The sauce was simple.  Peeled three Roma tomatoes and chopped them.  In a skillet I sautéed a little onion, a little finely chopped carrot and celery and some garlic in olive oil until tender.  I added some Italian Seasoning, Oregano and dried parsley.  With just a little water I cooked everything for about 15 minutes.

When the pasta was done I fried the Polenta Balls in oil until golden brown.  With some penne pasta I had myself a nice and simple dinner.  Experimentation in the kitchen can be a good thing…at least this time it was.

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I know World MOINK Ball Day is all about the balls but I had to post a picture of how Pascal set up his kettle grill for indirect cooking.  This is an excellent technique for people who want to give their meats a little smoke but don’t have a traditional smoker.

And the MOINK Balls look fantastic also!

And now a few entries from the United States:

This entry from Ric made me so jealous.  Not only does he show great technique with the MOINKs on Skewers but the view from his deck is simply amazing.  What a great day this must have been.

Mike uses the colored toothpick technique to jazz up his MOINK Ball entry.  Check out the nice glaze on his balls, that’s something to be proud of.

Check out this mound of  MOINK Balls from Richard.  And his method of serving them is spot on.  A big pile of sauced MOINK Balls in an aluminum tray captures the simplicity of what a MOINK Ball is!  Great job…

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Marc shows off his MOINK Ball results after his helper did all the hard work.  Nice job!  Marc, can I get some pictures of the outdoor fireplace behind you?

Okay, the MOINK Balls from Kees in the Netherlands look fantastic, but I’ve got to admit this picture of his mobile pit has me curious about how it all works.

Another great contribution Netherland’s contribution from Ewald.  His MOINK Balls came complete with a custom made flag!

Here’s another set of pictures that made me jealous.  Dirk was enjoying the warm weather while grilling his MOINK Balls.  Nicer weather in the Netherlands than Northern California on World MOINK Balls Day.

Bernd uses the classic Netherland’s indirect heat method to cook his MOINK Balls.  Someday I’m going to get my hands on some of the bacon they use.  Love the look of it on the MOINK Balls!

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Bill from Australia, was the “first cab off the rank in Australia.” Whatever that means.  Bill’s son seems to have a great technique for getting a whole MOINK Ball down in one bite.

Willem from the Netherlands not only knows how to make some great looking MOINK Balls but captures the beauty of them with some great pictures.

I’m a little jealous of the sunshine Werner has to cook MOINK Balls in the Netherlands.  Nice offset you’ve got there Werner!

Pieter, also from the Netherlands, has a nice indirect heat set up with his Weber Kettle.  And where can I get some of those cool wooden skewers?

Martin and his helper do a great job of cooking MOINK Balls with indirect heat on a little kettle.  Martin’s technique uses a minimalistic approach when it comes to sauce.

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Whether you’re an expert griller or a novice the new Kingsford site will provide you with tips and recipes that will take your cooking skills to the next level.

I was lucky enough to get interview by Clint Cantwell, the Grilling.com editor and he recently published a nice article and interview on the MOINK Ball.  I thought you might find it interesting.  It was fun and I’m thrilled to continue to spread the MOINK Ball love.

If you drop by and read the article how about leaving a comment!

Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2011 Larry Gaian

Red Hot Apple Glaze

Ingredients:

• 2 cups apple juice
• 2 cups sugar
• 1/4 cup Red Hots
• 8 grams Pectin

Directions:

Place apple juice, Red Hots and pectin in a sauce pan.  Bring to a full rolling boil, stirring contantly.  Add the sugar and bring back to a boil.  Boil, stirring constantly, for five minutes.  Strain off any foam.  Let cool slightly and place in an air tight container.  It’s ready to be a glaze.

This glaze will work with MOINK Balls and Ribs.  Not sure I’d use it on much of anything else, though.  Keep in mind this stuff is sticky, so be prepared.

Stay tuned in April for details of the 2011 MOINK Ball Challenge.  The Challenge will be moving to the Spring next year to try and get more participants to join in.

Thanks Michael for a great entry!

Southern MOINK & Mash Pannini

A Pizza Bake? A Meat Pie? Over Pasta? All of which sounded good – but seemed to be “reaching” – this simple dish didn’t need to be over done – just put some Southern kick on it and let it fly – so we did!

Make your MOINK Balls

• 2lbs of Ground Beef (or as much as you need)
• 3 Tbsp (or more) of your favorite BBQ rub – we used Wizzy Pig Steak Rub – and we loved it!
• 1 lbs of the best thick cut country cured bacon you can find – we used Clifty Farms

Season the ground beef well with your good stuff – wrap it in the bacon (about 1/2 a slice to a bit more) per 1/2 oz ball – stick a tooth pick through it to secure and dust them again take them out to your smoker (about 240 for about 1 and a half hours (and then 30 min after dipping – see below)

We smoked ours over some Apple sawdust on an easy to use electric smoker – the wood dust smoked for most of the cook – off of one fill up  – we always enjoy Apple smoke over our bacon wrapped treats

Now get back inside and start your taters!

Make your favorite mashed potato recipe and replace the salt with your favorite BBQ rub (ours is included below)

Ingredients

• 5 pounds russet potatoes
• 16 fluid ounces (2 cups) half-and-half
• 6 cloves garlic, crushed
• 4 tablespoons Wizzy Pig Smokin’ Rub
• 6 ounces grated Parmesan

Directions

Peel and dice potatoes about the same size. Place in a pan and cover with water. Bring to a boil over medium heat – then reduce heat to maintain a slow boil. Cook until potatoes fall apart when poked.

Heat the half-and-half and the garlic in a medium pan over medium heat until simmering. Remove from heat.

Remove the potatoes and drain off the water. Mash and add the garlic-cream mixture, Rub, and Cheese; stir to mix well. Let stand for about 5 minutes.

Now go dip your MOINK Balls – mix 1 part your favorite bbq sauce and your favorite jelly or jam

We used Big Butz “No Butz” bbq sauce and a circa 1997 blueberry jam from our local hook up Aunt Mary (she’s 90), go out and cover those MOINK Balls – this is what is going to set the rest of the dish off just right. – pay attention you only got about 30 min til your done.

OK you’ve got Southern BBQ mashed potatoes – you’ve got Apple smoked MOINK Balls – you’ve got fresh deli rolls  – What to do?

Take your roll and spread a hefty layer of Cheesy Southern Mashed Potatoes on the top bun – take 3 MOINK Balls from the smoker (remove tooth pick) and place on bottom bun – lightly brush the outside of the roll with olive oil and put it in your hot sandwich press – stay close we are just toasting the whole thing up,  give it about 5 minutes

Remove – slice and serve! – pictured with a little lettuce and fresh peeled plum halves

Ground Beef – Bacon- half and half – Parmesan Cheese – 5lbs potatoes – deli buns – BBQ rub – your favorite smoker and sandwich press

To vote for Michael’s entry please leave a positive comment below…

MOINK Ball Sub…but not sub-par

I wanted to come up with something that was not too complicated, and that most people could make using MOINK Balls as the main ingredient.

I first made up about 50 MOINK Balls (Only 24 were needed for the challenge, the rest were snacks) and I also made up some Bacon wrapped Mushrooms just because I have not made those before.

I took the frozen Italian Meatballs out of the freezer and marinated them with Italian Salad Dressing.

Next step was to wrap with half slices of bacon and secure with a toothpick.
I then used some Pork rub that I picked up at a local Rib-fest and coated the Bacon Wrapped Meatballs with the rub.

The MOINK Balls were cooked low and slow on my gas grill for about 2 hours to get it to the doneness of bacon I was looking for.

I used Ted Readers Pineapple Rum BBQ Sauce, which would be an excellent choice for this as the sugar content worked really well as a glaze.
coating the MOINK Balls and putting them back on the grill for 10 minutes.

I set the MOINK Balls a side and we ate the bacon wrapped Mushrooms as an appetizer.

Next I put some Mushrooms that I coated with butter and some pork rub along with some sliced Red Onion into foil packs and on to the BBQ for 20 minutes.

Now to put together the SUBS.

1. Slice 6 Italian Panini Buns down center but not all the way through.
2. Add half slice of Havarti Cheese with Jalapeno Peppers inside each bun.
3. Insert 4 MOINK Balls into each bun.
4. Add sliced Italian Tomatoes to each bun.
5. Add cooked Onions and optional some of the mushrooms (sliced) from foil packs to each bun (though I did not use the mushrooms today, rather I sauced and grilled the mushrooms for another appetizer.)
6. Add some more Pineapple Rum sauce or as I did added some SamDog Yellow Dog BBQ Sauce, Shredded Cheese, Nacho Cheese Sauce and Salsa to each Bun.
7. Heat up each sandwich for 2 minutes in a microwave and Serve.

They were fantastic, Since I used a number of different tastes together in the bun it resulted in an explosion of flavors with every bite.

Here are some pictures:

To leave a comment for Wilfred’s entry please leave a positive comment below.

Paul Haight’s MOINK & Ale Pie

Ingredients

• 24 MOINK Balls
• 4 medium roasting potatoes (gold, white, or red potatoes)
• 3-4 slices bacon, chopped
• 8 oz. fresh mushrooms, chopped
• 2 medium onions, chopped
• 1 heaping tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 16 oz. dark ale or beer
• 1 cup beef stock
• 2 tablespoons of flour mixed well in 1/4 cup cold water
• 1 package puffed pastry dough (2 sheets)
• Egg wash (1 medium egg and egg white from 1 medium egg)
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

To vote for Paul’s entry please leave a positive comment below…