Whiskey Bacon Meatballs
The original recipe: Slow Cooker Sticky Bacon & Whiskey Meatballs on Host the Toast
To be totally honest, the biggest difference between what I did and what the original recipe (linked above) calls for is I used panko in place of breadcrumbs, and I simply skipped the chives for garnish. I also don't feel "sticky" accurately described what came out of my pot - it was a tad oily as you can see in the photo, but all in all a solid recipe!
Makes 24-26 golf sized meatballs
INGREDIENTS
For the meatballs:
8 ounces uncooked bacon (I used Western Family's thick sliced bacon - the food processor made quick work of it)
1/2 a yellow onion, roughly cut (no need to be precise, it's going into the food processor!)
4 cloves of garlic (I left these whole as they just went into the food processor)
1.5lbs lean ground beef
1/2 cup panko (Japanese bread crumbs)
2 tablespoons freshly chopped parsley
1 extra large egg, whisked
2 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp salt
For the sauce:
1 cup barbecue sauce (we used the BBQ sauce from Cactus Club - did you know you can buy it??)
1/4 cup whiskey
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tsp red chili flakes
DIRECTIONS
4. Broil the meatballs until browned on the top.
Note: I started off with my broiler on low for 7 minutes and noticed they weren't brown, so I cranked it up to high for another 4 minutes.
5. While the meatballs brown, whisk together the sauce ingredients in your slow cooker.
6. When the meatballs have browned, add them to the slow cooker sauce and gently roll them around to distribute the sauce.
7. Cook on high for 1-2 hours or low for 3-4 hours, then serve!
Note: We cooked on low for 4 hours, then cranked it up to high for another 15 minutes because we thought the sauce might get stickier, but it didn't.
1. Add the roughly chopped onion, cloves of garlic, and bacon to a food processor and chop until there are no large chunks.
Note: My food processor is tiny, so I first chopped the onion and garlic, then did the bacon separately and combined it all together in a large bowl after.
2. To the bowl with the bacon and onion, add the ground beef, breadcrumbs, parsley, egg, smoked paprika, chili powder, and salt. Mix together until fully incorporated.
3. Roll the meat into balls, around 24-26 golf-sized meatballs and place onto a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil.
