Angie’s BBQ Meatballs

By
Angie Windheim
– November 17, 2011Posted in: Recipes

Meatballs in tangy Red Wine Barbecue Sauce.

What time is it when your sister-in-law delivers half a cow to your freezer?

Um, time to get moooo-ving and find those favorite beef recipes?

Well, Angie’s BBQ Meatballs is definitely a favorite for our seemingly endless supply of ground beef.

Once upon a time, this recipe was called “Mimi’s Meatballs.”  But since I’ve so drastically changed the BBQ sauce, I’ve decided to rename it.

The original recipe called for the old ketchup/brown sugar combo. Boy does that pack a lot of calories. After calculating it all on Lose It, I decided we had to “lose” the brown sugar…it added 829 calories!

Angie's BBQ Meatballs

Thankfully necessity truly is the mother of invention and it inspired me to use a fabulous, zippier BBQ sauce from Mark Bittman. So, so good and now that Heinz makes a corn-syrup free ketchup (Simply Heinz), I could make an slightly easier version of my darned-good BBQ sauce.

Angie’s BBQ Meatballs are filled out with oats instead of breadcrumbs, making them a good gluten-free option. However, I’m wondering about something…

Our cow was grass-fed. The meat is leaner, full of flavor and we are loving it. But does grass fed (rather than corn fed) cause problems for gluten-intolerant eaters?  From what I can find, it doesn’t seem to be an issue.

Ingredients List for BBQ Sauce

  • 2 cups ketchup (look for corn-syrup free varieties)
  • 1/2 cup red wine
  • 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
  • 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 Tbsp chili powder
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

Combine all ingredients in a small sauce pan and simmer over medium heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Set aside and allow to cool while you prepare the meatballs.

Ingredients List for Meatballs

  • 2 lbs lean ground beef
  • 1 1/4 cups rolled oats
  • 1 small, onion minced
  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  • 2/3 cup, low or non-fat milk
  • 1 egg

Method

Preheat oven to 350ºF.

Mix all meatball ingredients thoroughly together with clean hands and form into 1 1/2 to 2 inch balls.

Place meatballs in a single layer in a 9×13-inch baking dish.

Pour BBQ sauce over the top of meatballs.

Bake, uncovered, at 350ºF for 1 hour.

Serve warm.

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