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Barbecued Meatballs

Teresa Ambra
Barbecued Meatballs can be served as an appetizer or as a main dish served over rice. This delicious crockpot recipe uses a homemade barbecue sauce and homemade gluten free meatballs. Great for family dinners.
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Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 4 hours
Total Time 4 hours 30 minutes
Course Appetizer, Beef, Beef Main Dish
Cuisine Southern
Servings 6

Ingredients
  

BARBECUE SAUCE:

  • 2 cups ketchup (I used Hunts without high fructose corn syrup)
  • 4 tbsp. unsalted butter (omit if using raw meatballs, see note below)
  • 1 large onion diced
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup honey
  • 1/3 cup worcestershire sauce
  • 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
  • 1/2 tsp. pink Himalayan sea salt
  • 1/2 tsp. black pepper
  • 1/2 cup lemon juice
  • 1/3 to 1/2 cup fresh chopped parsley

MEATBALLS:

  • 2 lbs. 93% or 96% lean ground beef (do not use any percentage less)
  • 1 cup 4C Gluten Free Italian Style Bread Crumbs
  • 1 small onion finely chopped
  • 1/2 cup parmesan cheese shredded
  • 2 cloves garlic finely minced
  • 3 tbsp. dried parsley
  • 2 tbsp. Italian seasoning
  • 2 tbsp. oregano
  • 1 large egg
  • 1/2 tsp. black pepper
  • 1/4 tsp. Lawry’s seasoned salt

Instructions
 

BARBECUE SAUCE:

  • Combine all ingredients except water and place in a crockpot.
  • Add water only if necessary to thin sauce.
  • Stir in raw meatballs.
  • Cook on low heat about 4-6 hours.

MEATBALLS:

  • Combine ingredients in a large mixing bowl with your hands.
  • Roll into balls and place raw in slow cooker over top of barbecue sauce.
  • Add any remaining onions that weren’t combined with the meatballs and sprinkle them over top.
  • Cook on low heat about 4-6 hours or until meatballs are cooked all the way through.
  • Stir occasionally.

Notes

NOTE: While Mimi’s original barbecue sauce recipe called for butter, you may find that you have plenty of fat from cooking the raw meatballs and want to eliminate this ingredient.
NOTE: If you use a ground meat with a high percentage of fat, the meatballs will release too much grease while cooking. If you’re going to add raw meat, it has to be the highest ratio of meat possible; otherwise you will have an extremely greasy sauce.
© Can’t Stay Out of the Kitchen
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Keyword barbecue, beef, crockpot, gluten free, main dish, meatballs
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