I have been making the same meatballs for years. Always a crowd-pleaser and so simple, they practically make themselves. I normally smother my meatballs in homemade marinara sauce and serve over pasta, but I wanted to do something special this week. These meatballs are a cinch, delicious and can be made ahead of time for added convenience. Try Eastside Distilling’s Burnside Bourbon Whiskey for the bourbon glaze—these meatballs are sweet and savory, and you can either let them swim in the glaze for an ultra-sweet and tangy flavor, or lightly drizzle the glaze over the top of each meatball for subtly sweet bourbon-goodness. Bon appètit!
Ingredients:
Meatballs:
½ pound ground beef
½ pound ground Italian sausage, like Seattle-based Isernio’s Sausage Italian sausage
1 yellow onion, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
½ bunch of parsley, finely chopped
1 egg, scrambled
1 cup Panko bread crumbs
salt and pepper
olive oil
Bourbon glaze:
½ cup ketchup
¼ cup Dijon mustard
¼ cup of Eastside Distilling‘s Burnside Bourbon Whiskey or your favorite local bourbon whiskey
⅓ cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
Directions:
To make the meatballs: Preheat oven to 450°F. Begin by sautèing onion in a lightly oiled pan over medium-high heat. Once the onion begins to sweat, add minced garlic and salt and pepper to taste, and continue sautèing until lightly golden brown. Set aside.
In a large bowl combine ground beef, sausage, parsley, scrambled egg, bread crumbs and onion mixture. Mix (using your hands works best) until all ingredients are incorporated.
Using your hands, form balls. You can make any size you want, but keep in mind that this will change your cooking time. I formed 1-1/12 inch in diameter balls, and yielded 14 meatballs. Place balls in a generously greased baking pan or cookie sheet, and cook for about 30 minutes (turning over halfway through), or until a thermometer inserted reads 165°F.
You can either set these aside, cover in glaze and serve immediately, or freeze and reheat at a later time.
Directions for making the bourbon glaze: In a saucepan over medium-high heat, combine ketchup, mustard, brown sugar, bourbon and Worcestershire sauce, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and let simmer for about 10 minutes, or until sugar has dissolved and a syrupy glaze has formed.
The great thing about these meatballs is that you can make them any size you’d like. Small meatballs are perfect for holiday entertaining, or go big and serve with dinner. And the best part? The next day you can slice up the leftovers for meatball sandwiches (for best results, serve on a French roll and smother in your favorite barbecue sauce).
