Meatballs IN Beer?

With Memorial Day Weekend around the corner I thought I would share one of my husband's family recipes, Beer Meatballs.   This is an easy recipe and the sauce has only two ingredients, ketchup and beer.   Sounds gross?  I thought so too.  But its actually very tasty, well when they are made correctly...

My husband loves these meatballs and he couldn't wait to make them for the housewarming party we were hosting back when we were dating in 2007, when he moved into his rental house in Bay Shore.  All week he was telling me about his beer meatballs and he worked hard preparing them on the stove for the party.   Finally about a half hour before the party was set to begin, he took a finished meatball out of the pot and let me have a taste.  I took one bite and I knew that I couldn't stand them,  all I could taste was the ketchup, and ketchup DID NOT belong on a meatball.   But I didn't have the heart to tell my excited boyfriend how much I hated his meatball recipe.  It wasn't until more then two years and a lot of meatballs later, when I received the recipe at my bridal shower that I discovered why this famous family recipe was so bad... he wasn't following the recipe!   Jason had been winging it and using entirely to much ketchup to beer in the sauce.  Now that we make them correctly, I have to agree, they are really surprisingly delicious, even to a meatball expert, Italian girl like myself.

These meatballs, good for all times of the year, are easy to make.   They are a perfect dish to bring to an outdoor weekend BBQ.   You can make them on a stove top, but if your a crock pot person, that works too!

If your making the meatballs from scratch you will need:

1 1/2 lb. meatloaf mix

chopped onion

chopped parsley 

salt, pepper and garlic to taste

• Combine the ingredients and roll to form meatballs.
• Bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes.

Whether your using frozen meatballs or homemade, the sauce is the same and has only two ingredients:

1 14 oz. bottle of ketchup

1 bottle of beer.

If your using a stovetop, heat the ingredients up and simmer the meatballs in the sauce for 15-20 minutes, you will need to leave them longer if using frozen meatballs.  

In the crockpot, add the meatballs into the sauce and cook on low for 3 hours.  I like making it in the crockpot because I can leave them in the pot and serve them.