Football season has started, and some people don’t know which they love most: the game or the food! Whether you’re tailgating or watching from the sofa, football season means awesome food!

We have many different recipes for Texas-type meatballs, so be on the watch! Football season is perfect meatball season.

This recipe for Loaded Texas Meatballs will become a favorite with your family and anyone lucky enough to eat watch the game with you. You don’t even need a fork; just bring along some toothpicks!

You can use any flavor of Texas Bird Bath, by the way. Why not try it a different way each time you make it? There will be more than one football game, you know. 🙂

Meatballs can be either homemade or store-bought, but just in case you’re a purist, here’s the recipe we use for homemade.

Ingredients:

For the meatballs:

1 pound ground beef
1/4 pound ground sausage
2 eggs
1/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon salt (don’t leave it out!)
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 cup finely shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon garlic powder
3 teaspoon Texas Bird Bath

For the topping:

1/4 cup Bird Bath
14 cup shredded cheddar cheese
16 pickled jalapeno slices
1 tbs sour cream

What to do:

If you’re using store-bought, frozen meatballs, arrange them on a big cookie sheet and bake just long enough to completely thaw them. Then proceed directly to the next step. If you’re going to make the meatballs from scratch, follow the next set of directions.

If you’re going to make homemade meatballs, get out a large bowl. In this bowl, combine all of the meatball ingredients and mix thoroughly. Form into 16-20 meatballs. Put the meatballs on a cookie sheet with low sides, and bake for 15 minutes at 400 degrees. Remove from oven and drain thoroughly.

Once drained and cool enough, arrange the meatballs on an ovenproof serving dish. Top each meatball with a teaspoon of Bird Bath and a teaspoon of shredded cheese. Place under the broiler until the cheese is melted – about a minute. Remove from the oven and top each meatball with a dab of sour cream and a slice of pickled jalapeno.

Any Texas Pepper Jelly product will work with this recipe, so if you’d like to try any of our Rib Candy flavors or pepper jellies, give it a go! We’ve made these meatballs in many different ways and they’ve all been delicious!

I always double or triple this recipe when we’re having people over, though. The meatballs are big, but most people want a lot of them.

Stick a toothpick into each meatball and serve!

Happy Football Season!