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Sharpen your toothpicks. 2-Ingredient Barbecue Little Smokies are the easiest, most festive appetizer you’ll ever make. Two ingredients, zero prep, and 100% addictive, exactly the way all good party food should be.
Game days, birthday parties, movie night, sleepovers, and cocktail gatherings all have one thing in common: people who love little smokies simmered in barbecue sauce.
So instead of toiling in the kitchen for hours on end, I suggest giving them what they want – especially if it makes things easy for you! This recipe is so simple, it’s barely even a recipe. It’s just two ingredients that make one insanely delicious snack.
Table of Contents
Little Smokies ingredients
At a Glance: Here is a quick snapshot of what ingredients are in this recipe.
Please see the recipe card below for specific quantities.
- Little smokies: Famous things usually go by many names. You may know them as cocktail wieners, cocktail weenies, cocktail franks, lil smokies, or as my grandma says “baby wursts.” They’re small smoked sausages sold in 12- to 14-ounce packages at the store, in the deli section. (I’ve even heard that Costco sells them in 3-pound bags, and Trader Joe’s carries them sometimes on a seasonal basis.)
- Barbecue sauce: Sweet Baby Rays is my personal fave, so much so that I even made a copycat Sweet Baby Rays recipe, made with a ketchup base and sweetened with molasses (or honey) and brown sugar. But you can use any tomato-based BBQ sauce for these BBQ little smokies, as long as it isn’t a vinegary, Carolina-style sauce.
How to make Lil Smokies
- To make on the stove: Heat the barbecue sauce and the smokies in a saucepan over medium heat on the stove top, stirring occasionally, until hot throughout, about 10 minutes.
- To make in a slow cooker: Add the barbecue sauce and the smokies and stir them up. Cover and cook on HIGH for 1 to 2 hours, until hot. Once hot, they can be turned down for serving.
Tips for Mini Sausages
- Yield: 1 pound of cocktail wieners has about 40 sausages. With 5 sausages per serving, you can get about 8 servings per pound (assuming you are serving this at a party as part of a buffet with other choices).
- Serve with toothpicks: Forks might be too easy; toothpicks slow things down a bit. Everyone can jab what they want, and you don’t have to worry about running low.
- Make it sweeter or spicier: The brand of sauce you choose will determine the flavor profile of the appetizer. You can also try the classic Cocktail Sauce (or Chili Sauce) and Grape Jelly combination that is so popular on Crockpot Meatballs.
- Or use the big ones: You can cook the larger-sized sausages, too. Slice them up into rounds before cooking and heat as directed on the stove top or crock pot.
- Bangers and Mash: Serve these over mashed potatoes and call it dinner!
How to store Cocktail Weenies
Store leftovers covered in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 4 days. Microwave leftovers, if desired.
Frequently Asked Questions
Typically these little cocktail sausages are made of a combination of beef and pork, although you can also find beef-only, chicken, and turkey smokies sometimes.
Hillshire Farms is the company behind “Lit’l Smokies.”
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2-Ingredient Barbecue Little Smokies
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 packages cocktail wieners (see note 1)
- 1 (18-ounce) bottle Sweet Baby Ray’s barbecue sauce or any other barbecue sauce (see note 2)
Instructions
To make on the stove:
- In a small saucepan over medium heat, add little smokies and barbecue sauce and cook until hot, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes.
To make in a slow cooker:
- In a slow cooker, add little smokies and barbecue sauce and stir to combine. Cover and cook on HIGH for 1 to 2 hours, until sausages are hot.
Recipe Video
Notes
- Little smokies: Famous things usually go by many names. You may know them as cocktail wieners, cocktail franks, lil smokies, or as my grandma says “baby wursts.” They’re small smoked sausages sold in 12- to 14-oz. packages at the store, in the deli section. (I’ve even heard that Costco sells them in 3-pound bags, and Trader Joe’s carries them sometimes on a seasonal basis.)
- Barbecue sauce: Sweet Baby Rays is my personal fave, so much so that I even made a copycat Sweet Baby Rays recipe. But you can use any tomato-based BBQ sauce, as long as it isn’t a vinegary, Carolina-style sauce.
- Yield: 1 pound of cocktail wieners has about 40 sausages. With 5 sausages per serving, you can get about 8 servings per pound (assuming you are serving this at a party as part of a buffet with other choices).
- Storage: Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
I’m so happy i gound this recipe. I grabbed some little smokies and a bottle of sweet baby rays last night, and was just hoping for the best, because I was unsure. I found this recipe and felt a lot more confident. Also i was hoping i didn’t have to use the crockpot. Thanks so much for putting this up!
Holly, that is so great to hear and so nice of you to say! I hope they were everything you were hoping for. I just LOVE these little smokies. They are the best with the Sweet Baby Rays.
Thanks, I’m going to try this recipe New Years Eve. I’ve had them at parties but have never made them. All the recipes I was looking at talked about throwing a bunch of sugar or a jar of grape jelly in the sauce. I don’t recall ever tasting grape jelly in my little smokies. This sounds perfect though, Sweet Baby Ray’s is my favorite sauce and I have a few bottles on hand, just need the sausage.
Grape jelly with little smokies is actually really good too! But you need something else to go with the jelly – chili sauce. I use this for frozen meatballs a lot. Grape jelly alone is awful, but a hot chili sauce balances it out. But yeah, THIS recipe is even lazier, just dump Sweet Baby Rays on it and be done. That is definitely my favorite barbecue sauce too! Thanks so much for your comment and Happy New Year!
Costco has 3 lb bags, 1.5 lb twin packs.
Costco saves the day *again.* They are so amazing. I love that place. Thank you for letting me know!!
Trader Joe’s has the mini hot dogs again- must be seasonal
YAAAASSSS! Time to stock up. Thank you so much for letting me know! That actually makes a lot of sense.
Unfortunately, Trader Joes does not carry these anymore. I have asked several times when I could not find them on the shelf.
Are you serious?! I haven’t looked for them in so long. That is terrible, they were really delicious and not overpriced and just GOOD. I will ask next time I’m there and update my post. 🙁
Yum! The bottled sauce would work in a pinch, but I agree with Maggie. The homemade version looks like it’s worth the effort!
I totally agree with you, there’s something addictive about little smokies! I love that they’re so quick and easy to make!
This is the type of dish I always need for the movie’s night! The homemade barbecue sounds great, much better than the ketchup I usually use!
I’ve always thought these were such great appetizers. This is such an easy recipe there’s no reason for anyone not to make them. Great game day food.
Oh, I think I would definitely have trouble not gobbling all these up before the game, Meggan! I’ve never seen anything like these gorgeous sausages before – where have you been all my life? 😉