Monday, December 04, 2006

Barbecued Meatballs

From my beloved Aunt Beth, I think, though this has long been a family favorite and I'm not really sure quite which aunt originated it. Regardless, this is classic potluck food and a big favorite with kids and grownups. They freeze beautifully-since the recipe as written makes 2 pans, it's nice to eat one now and freeze one for later (that office potluck you forgot about until 10 o'clock the night before). I like to double the sauce to have extra to serve over rice or potatoes, but the dish is really good as written.

*3 Lbs ground beef
*2 cups quick oats
*1 tsp pepper
*2 tsp minced garlics (about two cloves' worth), divided
*1 13 oz can evaporated milk (low fat would work fine)
*1 1/2 cups chopped onion, divided
*2 cups ketchup
*2 eggs, beaten
*
2 tsp chili powder (note: this is not intended to be a spicy dish. Know your chili powder well; if it's spicy, you might want to reduce this amount)
*2 tsp salt
*1 1/2 cups brown sugar
*2 Tbsp liquid smoke (really, this is essential. It's cheap and it's awesome in this dish).

-Preheat oven to 350.
-Use your hand to blend meat, oats, milk, 1 cup of onion, 1/2 the garlic, eggs, chili powder, salt and pepper in large bowl until thoroughly mixed. Shape into 1 1/2" balls and place in single layer in 2 9"x13" baking dishes.
-Combine ketchup, brown sugar, liquid smoke, and remaining garlic and onion. Pour over meatballs.
-Bake for an hour, covered with foil for the first half.

2 comments:

Mummy/Crit said...

I reckon this would be great with 'roo instead.

*note to self: buy liquid smoke next trip to US

Sara said...

liquid smoke is one of those ingredients that doesn't bear much thinking about. What is it? It sounds like it might be carcinogenic. It's awesome. I also love it used in a pureed, nondairy carrot soup. Smoky carrot-odd combo but really works.