Bacon Beef Meatballs
Bacon Beef Meatballs
Party food!
We raise both beef and pork for our own use and while a ground beef and ground pork combination for meatballs is good, combining our homemade bacon with our beef elevates these meatballs to a new level. This recipe makes quite a lot which is good for a party, but you can also use half of them if you're serving just a few people and freeze the rest. This makes for an easy and quick appetizer for when you have guests over at the last minute. I like to serve these spicy meatballs hot with side bowls of Maple BBQ sauce or Blue Cheese or Ranch dressing.
Ready to serve!
Cook Time
Ingredients
- 1 lb bacon, slightly frozen
- 2 lb ground beef
- 2 cups fresh bread crumbs
- 2 large eggs
- 1 small to medium sized onion, or 1/2 large
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 teaspoon Griller's Choice Herb/Spice Blend, from Savage Forest Farm
- * you can substitute 1/4 teaspoon each ground black pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, chili pepper flakes, if you don't have Griller's Choice
- Optional: 1/2 teaspoon salt
Optional protein choices
If you don't like using beef and pork for this recipe, you can substitute ground turkey or ground chicken for the ground beef and Turkey bacon for the regular bacon. You would need to add about 2 Tablespoons of vegetable oil to the mix as the poultry products are leaner than the beef and pork.
Meat for Bacon Beef Meatballs
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Have 2 baking sheets (with edges all around) ready for the meatballs.
- Finely mince the partially frozen bacon. I do this in a food processor. Having the bacon partially frozen makes it easier to mince. Put it in a large mixing bowl.
- Put the ground beef in the mixing bowl with the minced bacon.
- Add the fresh breadcrumbs to the meats in the mixing bowl. To make the fresh breadcrumbs, take 4 slices bread (I used a hearty white bread), tear into 4 to 5 pieces each and process in food processor. Or put on cutting board and cut up fine using serrated knife.
- Finely mince the onion either by hand of in food processor. Add the onion to the other ingredients in the mixing bowl.
- Crack the eggs into a small bowl or measure cup. Add the water and the seasonings to the eggs and whisk lightly. Add the egg mixture to the other ingredients in the large mixing bowl.
- Mix to incorporate all the ingredients together. I use my hands but you can use a large spoon. Don't over mix as this makes the meatballs a bit tough.
- Form the meat mixture into 1 1/2 inch meatballs. I use a mid sized scoop for portions. Place the meatballs closely on baking sheets but not touching.
- Cover the meatballs with foil and place in the preheated oven. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for 15 more minutes.
- Remove the meatballs from oven and re-cover with the foil. Allow to rest about 10 minutes. Using a turner, take the meatballs off the cookie sheets and place on serving platter or in a serving bowl. Put the dipping sauces of your choice into smaller bowls near the meatballs. Guests can spoon sauce of choice and the meatballs onto their plate to enjoy!
Making the meatball mixture
