Cheesy Meatballs

Packers season opener. Tom called me at 11 AM to confirm I was coming over, as if I have ever in my life missed a Packers home opener at the Kowalski house. I brought a case of the Oktoberfest lager from Lakefront — it's not technically released yet, but the head brewer let me take a case home and I consider this one of the top three perks of my job, behind free beer and the satisfaction of making something with my hands.

Megan came for the game. She does not care about football. She cares about Tom caring about football, which is a form of emotional intelligence that I did not have the vocabulary for until I met her. She sat next to Tom on the couch and asked him questions about the plays and he explained each one with the patience and seriousness of a man explaining quantum physics. By the fourth quarter she was yelling at the TV. Tom looked at me and nodded. The nod said: she's good.

Linda made her game day spread: a cheese ball (Wisconsin law requires cheese at all gatherings), crackers, summer sausage, pickles, and a slow-cooker of meatballs in grape jelly and chili sauce. The meatball recipe is not Polish. It's not anything, really. It's church potluck food from the 1980s and it has no business being as good as it is. Megan ate seven meatballs and asked Linda for the recipe. Linda said, "I'll write it down for you." She will not write it down. She never writes anything down. This is how family recipes work: you either learn by watching or you don't learn at all.

The Oktoberfest is great. Clean, malty, amber, with that bready depth that makes you want to drink it sitting on a porch in a flannel shirt watching leaves fall. Tom had three and said, "This is the best one yet." He says this every year. Every year he means it. Every year I believe him because I need to.

Megan asked Linda for that recipe, and Linda said she’d write it down — and look, we all know how that ends. So I did what any self-respecting person does when a family recipe is at risk of disappearing into the void: I watched closely, asked a few questions, and reconstructed it myself. These cheesy meatballs are my best approximation of what came out of that slow cooker, and I’ll tell you, they hold up to a cold Oktoberfest lager better than almost anything I’ve ever put in front of a crowd. Make a big batch. People will eat more than they expect to.

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 25 min | Total Time: 40 min | Servings: 6

Ingredients

1 lb ground beef (80/20)
1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese, plus more for topping
1/4 cup breadcrumbs
1/4 cup whole milk
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 cup marinara or your preferred tomato-based sauce
1 tablespoon olive oil

Instructions

Preheat and prep. Preheat your oven to 400°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil and brush lightly with olive oil.
Mix the meatballs. In a large bowl, combine ground beef, breadcrumbs, milk, egg, garlic, onion powder, salt, pepper, paprika, and 1/2 cup shredded cheddar. Mix gently with your hands until just combined — do not overwork the meat or the meatballs will tighten up.
Form. Roll mixture into balls about 1 1/2 inches in diameter (roughly golf-ball-sized). You should get 18–20 meatballs. Arrange in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet.
Bake. Bake for 18–20 minutes, until cooked through and beginning to brown on the bottom. Internal temperature should reach 165°F.
Add sauce and cheese. Transfer meatballs to a baking dish or oven-safe skillet. Spoon marinara over the top, then sprinkle generously with additional shredded cheddar.
Broil. Broil on high for 2–3 minutes, just until the cheese is melted, bubbly, and beginning to spot. Watch closely — it goes fast.
Serve. Serve straight from the dish with toothpicks for a party, or over egg noodles for a sit-down meal. They hold well in a slow cooker on the warm setting if you’re feeding a crowd over a long game.

Nutrition (per serving)

Cheesy Meatballs — Linda’s Game Day Secret, Finally Written Down