Bourbon Glazed Meatballs....oh yeah

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OMG...just mmmmmmm

Not to toot my own horn, but wow these were good!!  I finally understood the difference in frozen v. fresh meatballs (I had heard Gordon Ramsay and Bobby Flay talk about it before, but did not really think it made a huge difference...I was WRONG).  The recipe I found used frozen meatballs, but I found a recipe for fresh meatballs and then had to tweak that since I did not have all the ingredients.

SO I am going to post pictures...and also the two recipes (but with my changes above the actual recipe)

MEATBALLS
I put all my ingredients together beforehand...when I realized I did not have Parmesan cheese, bread crumbs or parsley!!

After doubling the recipe, mixing it all together I had 35 meatballs and they were cooking away!

20 minutes later, a bit smaller, cooked and smelling/tasting firm, moist and flavorful!

I started with Alton Brown's recipe for baked meatballs and then tweaked it since I was missing some ingredients.  You can find his recipe HERE or posted below.  

As already mentioned I was missing some of the suggested meats, spinach,  parsley, Parmesan cheese and bread crumbs.  I tweaked it by hamburger meat and sausage, taking another mild cheese-emmental (mild to me anyway), cut it up into super tiny pieces, ignored the bread crumbs and parsley.  ALSO~ I doubled the recipe because it said it was made with the thought that there would only be 18 meatballs.  My family loves..LOVES..meatballs so we usually make more (total of 3 lb. in meat).

  • 1/2 pound ground pork
  • 1/2 pound ground lamb
  • 1/2 pound ground round
  • 5 ounces frozen spinach, thawed and drained thoroughly
  • 1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan
  • 1 whole egg
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons dried parsley
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 1/2 cup bread crumbs, divided

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the pork, lamb, ground round, spinach, cheese, egg, basil, parsley, garlic powder, salt, red pepper flakes, and 1/4 cup of the bread crumbs. Using your hands, mix all ingredients until well incorporated. Use immediately or place in refrigerator for up to 24 hours.
Place the remaining 1/4 cup of bread crumbs into a small bowl. Using a scale, weigh meatballs into 1.5-ounce portions and place on a sheet pan. Using your hands, shape the meatballs into rounds, roll in the bread crumbs and place the meatballs in individual, miniature muffin tin cups. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden and cooked through.


 BOURBON GLAZE
The entire reason I wanted to try this recipe!  haha no joke.
All of my ingredients (and YES I had all of the required/suggested ingredients)!!

Everything mixed together!!

Simmering away, all combined, smelling heavenly for our dinner tonight!!

I doubled this recipe as well since I doubled the meat it suggested.  I also researched what type of bourbon whiskey was good for cooking.  I found the recipe HERE and I found the suggested cooking bourbons HERE.


Preparation Instructions


NOTE: 1 bag of (1 pound) frozen meatballs is only about 18 to 20 larger size meatballs. That is perfect for a small get-together. But if you’re going to a larger party, you might want to get TWO bags of meatballs, and in that case you would then DOUBLE the above recipe.
In a medium bowl, combine all ingredients except your meatballs. Mix up really well.
Place your frozen meatballs into your crock pot, and pour the whiskey sauce in on top. Mix it up all around so each meatball is coated with the whiskey sauce.
Now turn up the heat to high. Leave it on high for about an hour, stirring a couple times.
Once it appears that the meatballs have somewhat thawed, go ahead and turn your crockpot down to low.
You don’t want to burn all that wonderful whiskey sauce! That’s the best part!

Ingredients

  • 1 pound Bag Frozen Meatballs
  • ½ cups Ketchup (Heaping)
  • ½ cups Brown Sugar, Packed
  • ¼ cups Bourbon Whiskey
  • 1 teaspoon Fresh Lemon Juice
  • 1 teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce



 Once this dish was done and both recipes were completed I sat down to a very full and fantastically achieved meal!!  I was so happy and proud:)  I also for the first time in my LIFE handled the meat without gloves, spoon, etc.  SUCCESS all around!


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