These are a relatively quick to make, crowd-pleasing use of venison. The barbecue sauce and egg keeps even the leanest meat from tasting too dry, and the soup mix and bread crumbs keep them from being too wet to shape.
Ingredients
- 3 pounds ground venison (or beef)
- 2 packets dry onion soup mix
- 2 extra-large or 3 large eggs
- 1/2 cup barbecue sauce
- approx. 1 cup bread crumbs
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl combine all ingredients but the bread crumbs, working as little as possible to get an even mixture.
- Once all the other ingredients are mixed, add just enough bread crumbs so the mixture “holds together.”
- Roll into approximately 1 inch balls and cook, refrigerate or freeze for later use.
- To cook, put on a grill and turn every couple minutes. Fresh meatballs will take as little as 5 minutes on a hot grill. Frozen meatballs might take as much as a half-hour on a slow grill, or 15 minutes on medium heat.
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 5 - 20 minutes
Feeds a couple dozen as an appetizer, or eight as a main course
All the real work is in the preparation. As long as you roll meatballs about an inch in diameter, they’ll cook fast on the grill. Just turn ’em over when the bottom side gets done. Two or three turns should suffice to get them completely cooked.
If you’re going to freeze meatballs, spread them in a single layer on the biggest aluminum sheet-pan that’ll fit in your freezer, and pop ’em in for about a half-hour before transferring them to a zip-top bag for long-term storage. They’ll freeze quickly that way, which makes for better flavor when they’re thawed and cooked.