CeramicChef Posted February 23, 2015 Report Share Posted February 23, 2015 HOWDY KK GURUS!!! I've seen a lot of meatball cooks lately, so I decided to give mine a little twist that may prove interesting. As many of you know, I LOVE hamburgers, especially the Juicy Lucy. For those of you how may not know, a Juicy Lucy is a hamburger with cheese cooked into the middle. They originated in Minneapolis years ago at one of two places. I find them to be a real treat. I don't have a recipe to give you. At this point in life after cooking for 40+ years, I just put in a touch of this, a dab of that, and a bit of the rest. I apologize in advance for being so lax. So I started with about 2.5 lbs. 90/10 hamburger and about 1 lb. of breakfast sausage with a couple of beaten eggs, some garlic powder, plain Panko, S&P, some creme fraiche, and Italian spice mix that I mix up on occasion. The cheese I'll be using is cubed mild cheddar which SWMBOI likes. Here is a look at the ingredients well mixed : In the upper right hand corner of the picture you can see my little trick for making uniform meatballs ... a nice sized ice cream scoop! Here it is in action: Now we add the cheese. Just press it right in the middle of the raw meatball mixture while it is in the scoop. Meatball mixture will raise up around the edges. That's okay as you'll just close that around the cheese: Squeeze the edges up around the cheese and eject the meatball indoor your other hand and roll it gently to make certain everything is nice and closed up and you have a nice round meatball. It should look something like this: Here is a nice picture of a dozen meatball in a special utensil with holes drilled in the bottom of each cup that allows the grease to drain while cooking. I got this idea from a friend out in Arizona and this pan is available on Amazon. Stupid me I only ordered 1 and I should have gotten two! We're trying to eat healthier you know! Here's a shot of the meatballs going into the Belly of TheBeast! I put a drip pan under the special meatball pan that allows grease to drain. A clean Beast is a happy Beast! Dennis, here is your marketing shot if you like. And here is a shot of the finished product being inspected by Pete The Salt Pig and his minions. Here is a shot of the Juicy Lucy Meatballs on the plate prior to being topped with a simply homemade Sugo. Here is the finished plate. A coleslaw and Cherub Tomato salad, LeSuer Peas, and a couple of Juicy lucy Meatballs topped with Sugo. Pete looks on approvingly. To be continued ... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CeramicChef Posted February 23, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 23, 2015 Continuing on ... And finally here is a cutaway view of the Juicy Luck Meatball showing the melted cheese. Next time I think I'll use 4 cubes of cheese per Juicy Lucy Meatball! I cooked these Juicy Lucy Meatballs for about 50 minutes at 325F. You can cook to an IT of about 165F or until you see a little bit of cheese seep out. This recipe made 21 Juicy Lucy Meatballs as you can see in this picture of the finish cook in the Belly of TheBeast. Don't forget to spray your meatball tin with Pam or some other nonstick cooking spray. I forgot to spray the tin on the left holding the 9 meatballs one stuck inside. I had to pry it out. It came out in pieces and of course, I HAD to eat it! Thanks for looking at yet another meatball cook, albeit with a little twist. I've got a fair number of meatballs left over. My BBQ Mooch Brother failed to show up with his bag of chips ... the wind was out of the North and he lives North of me! Y'all have a great week! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dstr8 Posted February 23, 2015 Report Share Posted February 23, 2015 Oh boy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tony b Posted February 23, 2015 Report Share Posted February 23, 2015 We have a local joint that does a pretty good Juicy Lucy. Thursday's Juicy night and you can custom order yours (or pick from one of the house versions). They are harder to do than you think (lots of blow-outs!) So, Hat's Off to CC for going for it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckreef Posted February 23, 2015 Report Share Posted February 23, 2015 Great looking meatballs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tinyfish Posted February 23, 2015 Report Share Posted February 23, 2015 Well done CC, thats looks like a winner in my books!! I will have to give this a try. What good Italian doesn't like a good meatball. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CeramicChef Posted February 24, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 24, 2015 Oh boy! dstr8 - this was an easy cook, fun to do, and was really pretty tasty! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CeramicChef Posted February 24, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 24, 2015 We have a local joint that does a pretty good Juicy Lucy. Thursday's Juicy night and you can custom order yours (or pick from one of the house versions). They are harder to do than you think (lots of blow-outs!) So, Hat's Off to CC for going for it! Tony - thanks for the compliment. I used to own a hamburger joint and I always fixed my own Juicy Lucy Burgers. I learned how to crip patties so that things didn't blow out. Meatballs are MUCH easier! Really. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CeramicChef Posted February 24, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 24, 2015 Great looking meatballs. ckreef - thanks. I'm looking forward to your cooks on that 16.5" KK you're contemplating. Those will be killer cooks! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CeramicChef Posted February 24, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 24, 2015 Well done CC, thats looks like a winner in my books!! I will have to give this a try. What good Italian doesn't like a good meatball. tiny - thanks so much for the compliment. You'd knock this cook outta the park. Give it a go! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckreef Posted February 24, 2015 Report Share Posted February 24, 2015 ckreef - thanks. I'm looking forward to your cooks on that 16.5" KK you're contemplating. Those will be killer cooks! Me too!! I have so many cooks and recipes I want to post but don't feel right about it, considering what I'm cooking on. Eventually it will happen. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckreef Posted February 24, 2015 Report Share Posted February 24, 2015 Your killing me after reading the other post. See I went out today and bought the ingredients for John's meatballs to cook tomorrow night. Now I see this and need to go back to the store for some cheese. Making it hard on me, I say. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CeramicChef Posted February 24, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 24, 2015 Your killing me after reading the other post. See I went out today and bought the ingredients for John's meatballs to cook tomorrow night. Now I see this and need to go back to the store for some cheese. Making it hard on me, I say. Have a nice trip to the market. It'll all be worth it in the end. Kiss skreef for me! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DennisLinkletter Posted February 24, 2015 Report Share Posted February 24, 2015 I just realized/remembered how good my momma's meatloaf was.. That being said, I have not eaten it in 35 plus years. These lil' meat balls might be the best way to introduce these flavors to my kids.. If you chopped your own meat in a food processor you could safely serve them a bit rare.. For those who have not chopped up meat for hamburgers in a food processor you need to try it. Soo much better than store bought burgers... I use chuck, sirloin and Tri tip of course! Cut them up by hand into 2" cubes then use the processor. Super easy and the texture of the burgers is completely different.. more like old school cut up at your table steak tartare cooked... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckreef Posted February 24, 2015 Report Share Posted February 24, 2015 Have a nice trip to the market. It'll all be worth it in the end. Kiss skreef for me! Got wrapped up today working on the game room remodeling and didn't want to go to the store. Can't let that stop a good dinner so .......... I did have some sliced mozzarella. I stacked up some slices then cut the stack into squares. I used John's recipe and your juicy idea to come up with Juicy John Meatballs - LOL Mrs skreef thinks I'm a perv for calling them that - OK so I am a perv but what does that have to do with meatballs anyway? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tony b Posted February 24, 2015 Report Share Posted February 24, 2015 Absolutely nothing! Hey, at least you didn't call them your "Schwetty Balls!" 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CeramicChef Posted February 25, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 25, 2015 Ckreef & Tony - you boys are going on the list of folks I've met in the kamado game who need a BIG dose of professional help! Y'all are simply nuts and may be beyond professional help. Kinda like me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tony b Posted February 25, 2015 Report Share Posted February 25, 2015 Way beyond professional help! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CeramicChef Posted February 25, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 25, 2015 Tony - with that post just above, you are officially off the list. You're too damned far gone! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckreef Posted February 25, 2015 Report Share Posted February 25, 2015 Here is some Juicy John Meatballs from last night. Homemade cheese squares by stacking sliced mozzarella (hey it's what I had). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
