Cowboy Meatballs with Cowboy BBQ Sauce
These Cowboy Meatballs stole my heart some 11 years ago! From a holiday party to an obsession I couldn’t shake, I had to recreate these!
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: ~40 meatballs
- Category: apeptizers, bbq meatballs, comfort foods, game day foods, meatballs
- Method: oven
- Cuisine: apeptizers, bbq meatballs, comfort foods, game day foods, meatballs
Ingredients
Cowboy Meatballs
- 3 lbs ground beef (85/15 or 80/20)
- 2 eggs
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons pepper
- 1 cup minced onion
- 2 cups old-fashioned oatmeal, not instant or quick cooking
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 12 ounces evaporated milk
- 1 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
Cowboy BBQ Sauce:
- 2 cups ketchup
- 1 tablespoon liquid smoke
- 1 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup minced onion
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, add all of the ingredients for the sauce.
- Cook until thick and bubbly, stirring occasionally. ~10 minutes.
- To make the meatballs, mix all the ingredients in a large bowl.
- Then, when it is all uniformly mixed, form into meatballs about the size of large golf balls or a bit larger.
- Place a large skillet over medium heat. You can add a tablespoon of olive oil if you want.
- Put the meatballs in the pan (don’t overcrowd).
- Brown on all sides (about 2-3 minutes per side).
- Remove from the pan and transfer to a casserole dish. The meatballs may touch, but don’t crowd them together.
- Pour the sauce over the pan-seared meatballs.
- Bake uncovered for 45 minutes (depending on the size of the meatballs). You can cover for the first 20 minutes, but then find the last 20-25 minutes to allow the sauce to get dark and super thick. The meatballs should be 165°F with a meat thermometer.