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Bacon Bourbon Meatballs

  • gluten-free Gluten-Free
  • dairy-free Dairy-Free
  • paleo Paleo
  • low-carb Low Carb
  • keto Keto

Perfect as a game day appetizer or for dinner! These bacon bourbon meatballs are easy to make and full of flavor. They are paleo, gluten free, dairy free, low carb, and can be made keto!

Bacon and bourbon. Yes, you read that right. 😍

Now that fall and football season are in full swing, I thought it was about time to make a delicious game day snack for the blog. Not only are these bacon bourbon meatballs great as a game day or party appetizer, they are also good as a main course for dinner! This recipe is so easy to make and full of flavor. You won’t be disappointed, I promise.

Perfect as a game day appetizer or for dinner! These bacon bourbon meatballs are easy to make and full of flavor. They are paleo, gluten free, dairy free, low carb, and can be made keto!

Instead of traditional barbecue sauce, I’ve made a quick paleo bourbon barbecue sauce to go with the meatballs. Traditional barbecue sauce has tons of refined sugar in it and often contains corn syrup. This paleo barbecue sauce is sweetened with just a touch of maple syrup. Don’t worry, it’s equally as delicious. You really won’t miss the store-bought stuff.  The recipe is fairly low carb as it is, but you can also make it ketogenic by substituting monk fruit syrup for the maple syrup.

To make it even easier on game day, these meatballs can be made ahead of time and just reheated when you’re ready to serve! When reheating in a pan, just make sure to thin the sauce with some water during the cooking process. The consistency of the sauce should be like a normal barbecue sauce. If it gets too thick at any point, just dilute it with a little water. You can also cook these ahead of time and then just reheat in a crockpot if you’re using them as an appetizer!

Perfect as a game day appetizer or for dinner! These bacon bourbon meatballs are easy to make and full of flavor. They are paleo, gluten free, dairy free, low carb, and can be made keto!

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    Bacon Bourbon Meatballs

    • gluten-free Gluten-Free
    • dairy-free Dairy-Free
    • paleo Paleo
    • low-carb Low Carb
    • keto Keto
    5 from 4 votes
    Prep Time: 12 minutes
    Cook Time: 34 minutes
    Total Time: 46 minutes
    Servings: 25 meatballs

    Ingredients 

    Bacon Meatballs

    • 9 oz 250g bacon, roughly chopped
    • 2 shallots roughly chopped
    • 9 oz 250g ground pork
    • 9 oz 250g ground beef
    • 1 egg
    • 1/4 cup 27g almond flour
    • 1/4 cup chopped parsley
    • 2 Tbsp ground flax seed
    • 1/2 tsp sea salt
    • 1/4 tsp garlic powder
    • 1 Tbsp butter ghee, or avocado oil

    Bourbon Barbecue Sauce

    • 1/2 cup water
    • 5 oz 140g tomato paste
    • 3 Tbsp maple syrup substitute monk fruit syrup for keto
    • 3 Tbsp bourbon
    • 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
    • 1 tsp blackstrap molasses
    • 1/2 tsp sea salt
    • 1/4 tsp garlic powder
    • 1/4 tsp smoked paprika

    Instructions

    Bacon Meatballs

    • Pulse bacon and shallots in a food processor until ground into a coarse paste. Alternately, you can mince everything finely by hand.
    • Add bacon and shallots to a large mixing bowl along with the remaining meatball ingredients (except butter).
    • Mix everything together until evenly combined.
    • Using hands (slightly damp to help prevent sticking), shape into 1 1/2" balls.
    • In a large skillet, melt butter over medium heat.
    • Once it is hot, add the meatballs and brown all of the sides (about 12 minutes). You may need to work 2 batches, depending on the size of your pan.
    • Remove meatballs from pan and set aside.
    • Spoon out most of the fat from the pan and discard. Leave about 1 Tbsp of the fat in the pan.

    Bourbon Barbecue Sauce

    • Mix all sauce ingredients together then pour into the skillet. Stir and bring to a boil, then reduce to simmer.
    • Simmer for 5 minutes, stirring and scraping the bottom occasionally.
    • Add the meatballs back into the skillet and simmer for 15 minutes.
    • If the sauce gets to thick, just add a bit of water and continue cooking. The sauce should be a normal barbecue sauce consistency at the end.

    Did you love the recipe? I would love it if you left me a 5-star review below!

    Author: Kit

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    xx Kit

     

     

     

     

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    Perfect as a game day appetizer or for dinner! These bacon bourbon meatballs are easy to make and full of flavor. They are paleo, gluten free, dairy free, low carb, and can be made keto!

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