Dubbed Sausage Shorties, these cheese stuffed sausage bites are a fan favorite around my house.  With only five ingredients total including the bacon ranch dipping sauce, they couldn’t be simpler to make but they sure are packed with flavor!

SAUSAGE SHORTIES

Ingredients

1 lb package of regular breakfast sausage

1 individually wrapped stick of pepper jack cheese (approx. 8 ounces) cut into eight strips

2 tbsp. of your favorite dry rub seasoning

¾ cup bacon ranch dipping sauce (recipe follows)

Instructions

Prepare grill for 2-zone cooking, placing pre-heated Kingsford charcoal briquets on one side of the grill's charcoal grate to create a hot zone and a cool zone.  Add 2 chunks of your favorite smoking wood to the charcoal and add the main cooking grate.  Cover the grill and adjust the bottom vents to bring the temperature to approximately 300 degrees.

Divide sausage in to 8 2-ounce portions. 

Cover one strip of cheese with a single portion of sausage and roll into an oval shape making sure the cheese is fully encased (editor’s note: I like to pinch each end so they look like mini footballs).

Dust cheese stuffed sausage bites with dry rub seasoning then place on the cool side of the grill.  

Cover the grill and allow the sausage bites to cook for approximately 20 minutes until cooked through.  Remove sausage bites from the grill and serve immediately with bacon ranch dipping sauce.

BACON RANCH DIPPING SAUCE

Ingredients

1/4 cup Hidden Valley® Original Ranch® dressing

2 slices thick cut pepper bacon, pre-cooked and blended until finely ground

Instructions

Mix both ingredients well and refrigerate until ready to serve.