Bourbon Meatballs Appetizer
This bourbon meatballs recipe fits the bill of a well-loved and delicious appetizer. The meatballs are succulent, the bourbon sauce is scrumptious and their flavors complement each other famously!
I usually serve these meatballs as an appetizer but you can also serve them as your main dish.
Christopher and I love appetizers and will periodically eat them instead of a typical dinner. So, when I told Christopher I was making these delicious meatballs, he advocated loudly that he wanted me to make them with a full pound of ground beef.
I crowed silently in my head because I knew I wanted to eat my fill of these bourbon meatballs without having to worry about how much I was eating and whether Christopher was getting his fair share.
Of course, we supplemented this appetizer with some bacon wrapped chicken livers, air fryer pickles, an assortment of olives, pub cheese on crackers and a salad.
Yum. We certainly know how to live!
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Helpful tips
- If you care how and where your meat and fish are sourced and you haven’t tried ButcherBox yet, you really should. It’s a meat subscriptions service that delivers high quality meat products directly to your door. It’s so convenient and will make you feel good knowing your consuming such delicious and excellent quality meats.
- If you can, buy grass-fed beef because you can taste the difference.
- Make the bourbon sauce at the same time as the meatballs as this will save you time.
- Hubby is sensitive to heat, so I only use a little chipotle powder, I encourage you to use as much as you like.
- These meatballs freeze very well. Just make sure they are in an airtight container.
- They can also be made ahead of time. You can keep them in the refrigerator, formed but uncooked up to 24 hours before cooking.
How to make bourbon meatballs
Pre-step
Get a sauté pan and a mixing bowl.
Step one
Gather the ingredients – bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, egg, herbs and spices and ground beef.
Step two
Place all the ingredients above into a mixing bowl.
Step three
With your hands, mix the ingredients together.
Take small amounts of the ground beef mixture with your fingers and roll them into medium-sized meatballs.
Step four
Heat a sauté pan (or two if you don’t want to cook the meatballs in batches) on medium. Add 1 – 2 tablespoons olive oil and once that heats up, place the meatballs in it and stand there while they brown, turning them every 30 seconds or so. Cook for approximately 8 minutes.
Step five
Remove meatballs from the pan and set aside.
Gather the ingredients for the bourbon sauce – ketchup, bourbon, brown sugar, garlic powder, paprika, apple cider vinegar, chipotle powder and salt.
Step six
Add the bourbon sauce ingredients to a saucepan and heat on medium. Once the sauce comes to a boil, let it cook for 10 minutes. Lower the heat and add the meatballs, stir and let them simmer for 5 minutes.
Place the meatballs on a serving plate, making sure to get all of the bourbon sauce out of the saucepan.
Time to sample one.
Now for the overhead view.
Perfect!!
I hope you enjoyed this bourbon meatballs appetizer recipe.
Other meatball recipes
And as always, may all your dishes be delish!
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Bourbon Meatballs Appetizer
Ingredients
Meatballs
- 1 pound ground beef grass fed
- .50 cup bread crumbs
- 1 egg
- .25 cup parmesan cheese
- 2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 teaspoon onion powder
- 2 teaspoon basil dried
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
Bourbon Sauce
- 4 ounces bourbon
- 3/4 cup ketchup
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 3 dashes paprika
- 2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 dash chipotle powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Instructions
Meatballs
- In a large mixing bowl, place all the meatball ingredients (except the olive oil) and mix them together with your hands
- Grab a small amount of meat and roll it into a meatball (you choose the size), place each ball on a plate until all the meat is used up
- Heat a sauté pan and add up to 2 tablespoons of olive oil
- Add the meatballs and sauté them, turning them every 30 seconds to brown all the sides. Should take around 8 minutes total
- Remove meatballs from pan and set aside
Sauce
- Add all the ingredients for the sauce, bring it to a boil and cook it for 10 minutes
- Lower the heat and add meatballs. Stir until the sauce covers them
- Continue simmering for 5 minutes
- Plate
- Eat
- Smile
- Enjoy
Equipment
Notes
- If you can, buy grass-fed beef because you can taste the difference.
- Make the bourbon sauce at the same time as the meatballs as this will save you time.
- Hubby is sensitive to heat, so I only use a little chipotle powder, I encourage you to use as much as you like.
- These meatballs freeze very well. Just make sure they are in an airtight container.
- They can also be made ahead of time. You can keep them in the refrigerator, formed but uncooked up to 24 hours before cooking.