Vickie’s Race Time Meatballs 

My sister makes great meatballs for Sunday game time. But in our house, the summer and early fall is time for NASCAR!

I’ve taken her Game Time Meatballs recipe and tweaked it a little to meet the taste of my Boys. Our version is more of a barbecue recipe that’s sweeter and hotter than my sisters. And we’ve played with the flavor of the meatballs a tiny bit too. Our version is also a bit darker on the table, because of the barbecue. So if you’re one of those folks who sets a table for contrasting colors, keep that in mind.

Like her Meatballs, you can serve our version in a bowl or fashion them into a sub with your favorite fixings. You can also cut them into quarters after cooking and turn them into a chunky dip for your favorite chips. And of course they’re always good with a warm corn muffin too!

Preparation Time:

20 minutes preparation,
90+ minutes cooking time

Ingredients:
You’ll need a cookie sheet and a crock pot for cooking.

• 2 lb hamburger
• 1 cup Italian bread crumbs
• ¹⁄₃ cup parsley
• ¼ cup finely chopped onion
• ¹⁄₃ cup ketchup
• 2 eggs

Sauce

• ¼ cup water
• ¹⁄₃ cup ketchup
• ½ cup Masterpiece Original Barbecue sauce
• 1 17oz jar Welch’s Concord Grape Jelly
• 2 teaspoon lemon juice

Directions:

• Pre-heat oven 375° F
• Turn your crock pot on high and add the water and jelly. Slice up the jelly in little bits, it doesn’t matter what size or shape. You just want to make it easier to melt into the sauce.

Meatballs:

• In a large mixing bowl, combine all the meatball ingredients listed above.
• Knead the mixture together until all the ingredients are fully mixed into the meat.
• Using your hands, mold the meat into 2 inch diameter balls.
• Place the meatballs, about 1 inch apart, on a cookie sheet and place them in the oven for 20 minutes until brown.
• While they’re cooking, complete the preparation of the sauce.

Sauce:

• Combine the remaining sauce ingredients into the crock-pot, and thoroughly stir the mixture.
  It’s ok if the jelly is still a little chunky. It will smooth out during cooking.
• Once your meatballs have browned in the oven, remove them and drain any excess grease.
• Add the meatballs to the sauce in the crock-pot.
• Gently fold the meatballs into the sauce so as not to break your meatballs apart. Cover and cook for the first 30 minutes.
• Check on your pot and gently fold the meatballs into the sauce. Continue this step every 30 minutes. You will cook your meatballs in the sauce, on high for 60 minutes.
• After an hour, turn the heat down to medium and cook for another 30 minutes.
  Cooking time will depend on your crock pot and how much you want the sauce to soak into the meat.

.Alternatives:

• You can use any brand of grape jelly you wish. I simply prefer Welch’s.
• Same thing for the barbecue. I think Masterpiece Original is best. But if you like a hotter flavor, go for it.

Serve:

• Hot
• Serve hot with fresh cornbread or Sweet Corn Muffins.
• Serve in bowl with a dash of shredded cheddar on top.
• I’ve sliced up left over meatballs to make barbecue nachos. It’s really pretty good.

© 1997-2019 Springwolf, D.D., Ph.D., Springwolf’s Creations. All Rights Reserved.