This easy recipe for twice-smoked lil smokies with raspberry chipotle sauce takes America’s favorite appetizer to the next level.
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Not only are the tiny sausages pre-smoked, but you’re going to bathe them in a smoked jalapeno (AKA chipotle sauce) and smoke them some more, making them irresistible.
Table of Contents
What are lil smokies?
Lil smokies are small smoked sausages that can be made of beef or pork or a combination of meats. Because of their size, they’re great for appetizers and tailgating.
The most popular brand is probably Hillshire Farm. They call them Lit’l Smokies. Lit’l is short for little. People also refer to them as cocktail sausages or cocktail weenies because they’re a crowd pleaser at cocktail parties.
When I first started entertaining, I would make crockpot little smokies. You just add the little sausages to a slow cooker with chili sauce and grape jelly. Sometimes, I would mix things up and use store-bought or homemade BBQ sauce.
This delicious recipe is a little more elevated, but just as easy.
Ingredients
You only need a few simple ingredients to make this easy appetizer recipe. You can either make your own raspberry chipotle sauce or buy bottled sauce.
- Lit’l Smokies: Small smoked sausages. They’re sold near the bacon and lunch meats.
- Chipotle Sauce: Look for this in the Mexican food aisle. If you can’t find the sauce, look for a can of chipotles in adobo sauce, and just use the sauce.
- Raspberry Preserves: This balances the heat of the chipotles with a little sweetness. Any brand will work.
- Ketchup: This helps create a smooth, rich texture and adds a bit of sweetness to the sauce.
Substitutions: Instead of making your own sauce, you can also use pre-made raspberry chipotle barbecue sauce. My favorite is from Blues Hog.
See the full recipe card below for servings and a full list of ingredients.
How to cook lil smokies
This is the easiest appetizer ever. Just heat your grill or smoker to 250F degrees with an indirect heat zone.
If you’re using a Ninja Woodfire Outdoor Grill, set the function to smoker, the temperature to 250F degrees and the time to 2 hours.
- STEP ONE: Mix the sauce ingredients in a 13 x9 pan or pour a bottle of pre-made sauce in the pan.
- STEP TWO: Stir in the sausages. Try to get them all coated.
- STEP THREE: Place the pan on the smoker and cook for 2 hours, stirring every 45 minutes or so.
PRO TIP: Lil smokies are fully cooked, but the packaging still recommends heating them all the way through.
How to serve lil smokies
Remove the pan from the grill or smoker. Either place the pan on a trivet on the table or transfer the sausages to a serving dish. Serve with toothpicks or little forks.
Each 14-ounce package of Lit’l smokies has around 40 sausage links, so you’ll end up with about 80 sausages. If you plan on 4-5 sausages per person, this recipe is enough for about 16-20 people.
But they will be a huge hit, so if you don’t have any other great appetizer recipes for people to munch on or you serve these as a main meal, plan on at least 10 per person.
Storage
Store leftover raspberry chipotle lil smokies in the refrigerator in an airtight container for 5-7 days. You can also freeze them for a few months.
To save a few minutes of prep time, you can also mix together the ingredients one to two days before you plan to cook them. Just store that in the fridge. Then, put everything on the smoker when you’re ready.
GCG Pro Pitmaster Tips
- Save a bowl and mix everything together in the pan
- Stir throughout the cook, so more sauce is exposed to the smoke
- Hickory and cherry woods are great choices for this lil smokies recipe
Frequently Asked Questions
Check the packaging. There are different types of cocktail wieners and brands vary. Hillshire Farm Lit’l Smokies are made with pork and chicken and have a beef collagen casing.
Yes. Little smokies are fully cooked. However, just like hot dogs and other refrigerated smoked sausages, it’s always best to heat fully them before eating.
Lil smokies are the shape of little hot dogs, but they’re actually small smoked sausages.
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Raspberry Chipotle Lil Smokies
Ingredients
- 2 pkgs Lit'l Smokies, 28 ozs total
- 1/2 cup chipotle sauce, 7.76-oz can
- 1 3/4 cup raspberry preserves
- 1/2 cup ketchup
Instructions
- Heat Smoker: Heat your grill or smoker to 250F degrees with an indirect heat zone.
- Mix: Mix all of the ingredients together in a 13 x 9 aluminum pan.
- Smoke: Place the sausages on the grill or smoker over indirect heat. Smoke for 2 hours.
- Serve: Remove from the grill and place on a platter. Serve with toothpicks.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
