Dinner: Cheddar and Bacon BBQ Meatballs

Ingredients

Cheddar and Bacon Meat Balls

1.5 lbs. Ground Beef (93/7 lean/fat)
3/4 Cup Cheddar Cheese
3/4 Cup Crushed Pork Rinds (BBQ Flavor if you have it)
4 Slices Bacon
1 Large Egg
3/4 tsp. Salt
3/4 tsp. Pepper
3/4 tsp. Cumin
3/4 tsp. Garlic Powder.

Instructions

1. Grab your pork rinds. Mine are BBQ flavor which works perfectly for this recipe.
2. Put the pork rinds into a ziploc bag and crush them until they are relatively fine. I don’t mind leaving a few bigger pieces in there for texture.
3. In a mixing bowl, put your ground beef, egg, salt, pepper, cumin, and garlic powder.
4. Add your pork rind crumbs.
5. Mix together well.
6. Make a small hole in the meat and add your cheese.
7. Mix these all together well.
8. Cut your 4 slices of bacon into thin strips. Easiest way is to use a pair of scissors. If you plan to use a knife, put your bacon in the freezer for 20 minutes previously to cutting it.
9. Add your bacon to a hot pan and let it fry up.
10. Keep cooking your bacon until it reaches a crisp point.
11. Remove your bacon and place on a paper towel to dry and crisp up. Keep the pan with the bacon fat in it – we will be using it to cook the meatballs!
12. Once your bacon has cooled off a bit, add it to the meat mixture and mix well.
13. I used my eye to measure the meatballs, but usually you will get 20-25 meat balls of a decent size. Roll them out and keep them to the side of your stove.
14. Once all the meatballs are rolled out, add about half to the pan to start cooking. I don’t like cooking them all at once because they don’t turn out as well.
15. Let them brown on one side and then flip them over.
16. Allow them to keep cooking, turning them on their other sides as needed.
17. Remove them from the pan when they are rare (still semi-raw in the middle).
18. Cook the rest of your meatballs. Once they are to a rare state, add all the meatballs to the pan.
19. Turn down the heat to low, and cover the pan with a lid. Let these cook until they are to desired wellness. I usually let them cook while I am making the BBQ sauce. By the time I’m done, they’re also done.

The Marriage

1. Remove the meatballs from the pan and let them rest for about 5 minutes.

2. Serve them out, usually 4-5 meatballs per person.

3. Apply your BBQ sauce on the top. This is to preference. I have about half of the BBQ sauce left when I am done with 20 meatballs, but I know some people really like their sauces!