Barbecued Meatballs

Yield 80 Meatballs

We got this recipe years ago from Country Woman Magazine.  I am not even sure if that magazine is still in publication, but this recipe is alive and kicking among women every where I have lived.  Each place I go, this is a go to recipe for at least one of my friends. 
I remember my momma making this for Sunday Dinners where we would have these (what seemed to be) massive church potlucks.  Because our church had Sooooooo many college students in it who would not be bringing food, and who had not had a good home-cooked meal in a while; my Mom and Grandmother would cook for an army. Im sure many women did but when mom would make this huge batch of meatballs everyone knew Lorraine's food was gonna be good, and they went fast.
When I make it for us now, I save half of the meatballs for another meal in the freezer.

Here is what you need for the meatballs:

3 pounds lean ground beef
1 12 oz can evaporated milk - (milnot)
1 cup oatmeal
1 cup cracker crumbs
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 teaspoons chili powder

To make the meatballs, combine all ingredients.  Mixture will be soft.  I use gloves for this job and just use my hands.  Shape into walnut sized balls.  (I use a small cookie scoop for this).  Place meatballs in a single layer on wax paper lined cookie sheets; freeze until solid.  Store frozen meatballs in freezer bags until ready to cook.

Sauce Ingredients: (original recipe)
2 cups ketchup
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon liquid smoke
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 cup FINELY chopped onion

To make sauce combine all ingredients and stir until sugar is dissolved, place frozen meatballs in a 13 X 9 baking pan; pour on the sauce and coat the meatballs evenly.  Bake for 1 hour @ 350.  Test one meatball by cutting it open to make sure it is completely done.  Enjoy them with Mac & Cheese, and Mashed Potatoes - Delicious!  Unhealthy but just get over it and live a little - you will thank the ladies at Country Living later! :)

I have modified the sauce because it is a bit too sweet for my liking - being that it has a whole cup of brown sugar.  I cut that down by at least half and replace some of the ketchup with my husbands' secret BBQ sauce.  So just choose your favorite bbq sauce and play around with it until you get it the way you want. Be creative with your food, I know - its risky but one of these days your gonna get a dead ringer and we are all going to be talking about how much we love your spin on it!