BACON WRAPPED ONION HAND GRENADES

Oh Summer. The smell of fresh cut grass and two cycle lawn mowers. The distant crack! of a baseball bat.  An ice cream truck approaches with the screams of delighted children in chase. And then you catch a whiff of your neighbor’s BBQ grill and you ask your South Florida self, “who the heck BBQs in this heat?”

Yep, there are two things that you can be certain of August in South Florida; hurricanes on the horizon and 94° with a heat index of 107°. Fear not! This gastronomical grenade is simple to create in the air conditioned comfort of your galley and is a treat for any dockside or poolside party.

INGREDIENTS:

5 medium white onions
1 ½ lb. lean ground beef
1/3 c. onions, diced
1/3 c. parsley, chopped
1 ½ tbsp. brown sugar
1 tbsp. green jalapeno sauce
1 ½ tsp. soy sauce
1 ½ tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/3 cup Panko bread crumbs
1 pack of bacon (the wider the better)
1 bottle of BBQ sauce
Toothpicks 

 

PREPARATION:
To start making these tasty BBQ meatball onion bombs, preheat your oven to 425°F. Cut off the tops and bottoms of the onions and remove the exterior skin. Cut the onion in half. Staring at the middle, carefully peel onion from the inside-out leaving the last two outside layers for a shell. Set the onion layers aside.

Mix the ground beef, diced onion, and parsley, brown sugar, condiments, and bread crumbs in a large mixing bowl by hand. Place a handful of the meatloaf mixture inside two of the onion shells; joining together to make an onion-meatball. Wrap the onion meatballs in bacon, using three slices per ball. Secure the bacon with toothpicks to keep it from unraveling during cooking.

Bake in a dish or cast iron skillet at 425 °F for 40 minutes or until the interior temperature reaches 165°F. Baste your balls in BBQ sauce and bake for an additional 5 minutes. Remove from oven and let sit at least 5 minutes before service. Enjoy, JW