Fatty meats are and have been the ‘cornerstone’ of my successful diabetes self-treatment plan for over 9 years! About a month ago, I began to experiment with large stuffed meatballs! Large stuffed meat balls are a purrrfect addition to my ‘way of eating’!
- Easy to broil or grill! … I promise!
- Stuff with your favorite foods… or not!
Prior to a few months ago I had never made meatballs! Why? The recipes I’d seen included fillers… fillers I would not eat, like flour or breadcrumbs. I assumed the fillers were needed to hold the meatballs together…
These large meatballs are 8-9 ounces of ground beef, pre-cooked weight.
I was WRONG! Just look at those gorgeous meatballs in the above picture! Every single large stuffed meatball I make looks like these! They hold up very well … easier than flipping burgers!
Birth of Large Stuffed Meatballs!
I love grilling meats, I do it several times a week except during the coldest days. I don’t like to over cook my meats and this creates a bit of a problem when grilling the typical large ground beef patties. I like them large and thick.
Because I prefer my meats rare (no more than medium rare), occasionally I’d try to flip the burger too soon and it would break up. I thought, ‘what if I didn’t have to flip them?’.
What if… indeed! So I began experimenting with just making large meatballs… it worked beautifully. When you grill them, as the outer layer of meat cooks, you can simply roll it a 1/4 turn. The best part?
The meat inside… stays rare (or medium rare)!!!
Relax… if you want to cook your meats medium or even well done, that too is simple and easy!!
Lastly, I had successfully ‘stuffed’ a sirloin steak a few weeks earlier, thanks to Elizabeth Alcott. After successfully creating large meatballs, I decided to stuff them…. WINNING! It worked perfectly! Through trial and error I found 8-9 ounces of ground beef works the best.
How to Stuff Large Meatballs
- Patty out 8-9 ounces of ground beef and add your favorite ‘stuffings’.
Note: Through trial and error I’ve learned to press out the patties thinner than this picture shows.
- Press and massage the meatball to remove any seams
- Place in the refrigerator while you prepare to grill. This is optional, but does seem to help solidify the meatballs. I’ve done it with and without and both methods work.
- Unless I’m in a hurry, I cook these over indirect heat for about 45 minutes, to achieve ‘medium’ and melted cheese.
These are the results!!
Future Meatball Stuffings!
I’ve had some mean cravings for jalapeno and cheddar cheese… and stuffing these large meat balls is just what I need! I have made them with tomato, onion and cheese… so good!!
However, you can add whatever you want!
Facebook friends came up with these suggestions and I’ll definitely try them all!
- Susan Stamey: ‘just’ onion… lame I know. Just kidding, we joke a lot.
- Christina Fultz: avocado, bacon, and cheese! A winner for sure!
- Rob Porter: Ghost peppers — I like it!
- Cheryl Burns Perkins: Love… always add plenty of love. <3
- Heather Comet: Bacon and cream cheese. NOM!
- Timothy Hill: Feta cheese and spinach. I like it!
- Karen Gale: Really stretched herself when she added ‘bacon’. :P
- Helena Barr: Haloumi Cheese — I like it!
- Kate Berger: mushrooms and onions. Love it!
- Chance Bunger: stuffed with ground beef. :D
- Elizabeth Alcott: mushrooms and cheese – yum!
- Sean Smith: meatballs stuffed with prime rib! lol :P
Meatballs: Default Grilling Method
One thing is for sure… large meatballs are now my default grilling method for ground beef, stuffed or not. It’s that damn good.
Why? Ease of grilling and the awesome juiciness it produces.
Will I ever patty out ground beef to cook again? Sure, if a dinner guest requests them or when frying a quick burger inside in a skillet.
I discovered this different way of cooking ground beef through exploring and experimenting with different ways to prepare my ‘truly diabetic friendly foods’. I strongly suggest you do too. Have fun preparing foods that will improve your health without blowing up your blood sugars! … I do.
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