It's raining like mad, snowing, or otherwise a type of weather that would prohibit you from firing up the grill. Never fear: you can still have a little bit of burger goodness from your stovetop. I won't try and sell this to you as a "burger alternative," because it's certainly not. But it is a great, easy dinner for when you're really missing burgers or need something that will absolutely pacify the kids.
This is one of several different Simmered Meatball recipes we have, all based off of a recipe called "Chili Balls" from my grandma's cookbook. I made Chili Balls verbatim, and they were...fine. Edible. But they contain nothing but salt and a teaspoon of chili powder. They needed a more complex flavor, and since the method itself is pretty great, we decided to riff on it in as many ways as we could. I'm sure there will be more variations in the future, as we make this regularly for dinner in my house. But for now, you can also check out Simmered Mexican Meatballs, Simmered Hunters' Meatballs, and Simmered Mediterranean Lamb Meatballs.
Notes
- Steak Seasoning: Be mindful when choosing a steak seasoning. Some of them are extremely heavy on the salt, so if you have one of those, feel free to reduce the salt in the meatballs or omit it entirely. It's impossible to give foolproof instructions because there are so many different steak seasonings out there, so use your best judgement.
- Make it a Sub: Another fun variety is lining up these meatballs in a subway sandwich roll, adding your favorite burger toppings, and serving a Burger Meatball Sub.
- Bacon, Please: You can always elevate this a bit more by adding some crunched up leftover bacon as well. Just be careful that things don't get too salty.
Storage
You can refrigerate these meatballs and their sauce in an airtight container for 3-4 days. I do not recommend freezing these meatballs due to the rice and the milk that are incorporated into them.
FAQ
In theory, yes. If you're extremely short on time or patience, you could potentially skip this step, but I don't recommend it. It's likely that the meatballs will fall apart as they cook without the browned outside to hold them together. To be completely honest, I don't brown my meatballs on all sides out of sheer impatience. I do a "top and bottom" type browning, and then handle them very carefully as I move them around. It's much faster and holds them together enough for purposes.
Related
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
Grace Says:
You can brown these meatballs a little more heavily to get a bit more of that burger flavor to come through.
📖 Recipe
Simmered Bleu Cheese Burger Meatballs
Ingredients
- 2 pounds ground beef
- 1 egg
- ½ cup milk
- ⅔ cup uncooked rice
- 2.5 cups water
- 1.5 T steak seasoning
- ½ t salt, optional, depending on composition of steak seasoning (for meatballs)
- 1 t salt (for sauce)
- 1 28 oz can of tomatoes
- ¼ cup chopped onion
- 4 oz bleu cheese
- 2 T olive oil, bacon grease, or any other fat of your choice
Instructions
- Blend the meat, steak seasoning, and optional salt together. When you measure out your milk, crack your egg into that same measuring cup and whisk the egg and milk together. Add the rice, milk, and egg to the meat, and blend well. The mixture will look quite wet at first, but it will come together.
- Form the meat into balls, ~2" wide, and quickly brown in the fat of your choice over medium heat. You don't need to cook them through, just brown the outside. Remove the meatballs carefully with tongs or a spoon and set aside. Larger meatballs will be more fragile to move around.
- Put the tomatoes and salt into a large pan, saucier, or pot. You'll need enough space for all the meatballs to fit in it as well. Bring that to a boil and then nestle the meatballs into the tomatoes.
- Cover and simmer on low for 1.5 hours. Crumble the bleu cheese on top when serving.
Did you make this recipe? Let me know!