Bacon BBQ Meatballs

Bacon BBQ Meatballs

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www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com[/caption]All right College fans, it's that time of year again. Saturdays are once again going to be filled with hours of games while we watch our favorite teams and conferences on their quest to the College Football playoffs and a shot at the 2016 College National Championship in Glendale Arizona. No matter who you root for, their is always room for some good snacks during the game.Today's recipe won first prize at the Big Bite Bacon Fest at the Del Mar County Fair in San Diego, California. I give you BBQ Bacon Meatballs.[caption id="attachment_1039" align="aligncenter" width="300"]

BBQ Bacon Meatballs[/caption]This recipe comes from Erlene at Pinterventures.

Ingredients

• 1lb ground beef (I used 85/15)
• .75 - 1lb ground pork sausage
• 1 1/2 - 2 bag thick cut bacon
• 2 Large eggs
• 1 1/2 cup Italian bread crumbs
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• 1/2 tablespoon onion powder (can use 1/4 cup finely chopped onions)
• 1/4 cup shredded mexican cheese mix (optional)
• 1 1/2 cup BBQ Sauce (I used Sweet Baby Ray's Sweet Cola-Q Sauce)

Directions

Step 1Place ground beef, pork sausage, eggs, bread crumbs, garlic, and onion powder into a bowl and thoroughly mix the ingredients together.Step 2Roll into approximately 28 golf sized balls. Make a hole into the center of the ball and insert a pinch of cheese and pinch the ball shut. Shape back into a ball. (Cheese is optional)Step 3Cut the bacon in half and wrap each meatball with a half slice of bacon.Step 4Place meatballs about an inch apart on a foil covered pan with the bacon seam side down. Bake at 350F degrees for 20 minutes in center rack. *You can also place the meatballs on a cookie rack in the pan. This will keep the meatballs out of the bacon grease.*Step 5At 20 minutes, take pan out and drain out bacon fat. Brush on BBQ sauce and place back into the oven for 10 minutes and brush on more BBQ sauce. Drain out pan again if needed. Brush on more BBQ sauce and place back into the oven for 5 minutes. *If you're not big on BBQ sauce, you can skip the third brushing of BBQ and serve BBQ sauce on the side*Step 6Drain any remaining bacon fat and serve.

Check the magazine for more recipes that include bacon as we continue the first ever Grunt Style Bacon Brawl.