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This Bourbon Meatball recipe is a combination of several recipes I have found over the last couple of years.  My discerning taste testers have given me their feedback and this is the final recipe.

I mean it has bourbon, bacon, beef, BBQ sauce.  Who doesn’t like all of that?  I served these at a party recently and everyone loved them.  I admit I had plied them with lots of wine and booze, but never the less they liked them.  See, the secret to a good party is having really good booze and music then your guests will love your jokes and especially the food!
But on a more serious note, if cooking can be considered serious, these meatballs are great without the sauce served over mashed potatoes for dinner.  I will work on a more “formal” recipe for that one.
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Bourbon Meatballs

An old fashioned appetizer with a twist of Bourbon to give it a hint of smoke and sweet.

Servings 20

Ingredients

  • 6 Strips uncooked bacon
  • 1 lb Ground beef
  • 1/2 Onion, chopped
  • 1/2 Cup Breadcrumbs
  • 1 teaspoon Chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
  • 2 Tablespoons Fresh Parsley, chopped
  • 1 Egg

Sauce

  • 1 Cup Apricot jelly (about 1 small jar)
  • 1/3 Cup Brown sugar
  • 1 Tablespoon Sriracha sauce (add more if you like it spicy)
  • 1/2 Cup Bourbon
  • 1/2 Cup BBQ sauce (more of a tangy BBQ sauce-NOT sweet like KC Masterpiece)
  • 1/4 Cup Water

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 400°

  2. In a food processor, blend bacon and onion until copped finely.

  3. In a large bowl mix together bacon/onion mixture, breadcrumbs, chili powder, salt, parsley and egg.  Form mixture into 24- 1" meatballs and place on a foil lined cookie sheet.  

  4. In a large bowl mix together bacon/onion mixture, breadcrumbs, chili powder, salt, parsley and egg.  Form mixture into 24- 1" meatballs and place on a foil lined cookie sheet.

  5. Bake for 15 minutes.

  6. In a large skillet (I prefer a straight-sided) over medium high heat, mix all the sauce ingredients.  Stir until the sauce becomes thick and the alcohol burns off, about 5-7 minutes.  When meatballs are cooked add them to the sauce and coat evenly.  Serve warm with sauce poured over and toothpicks.

Needed Items