Last year we were without power for New Year’s Eve, so we made up for the amount of food made this year.  These venison bourbon meatballs are from a couple different recipes, but the ingredients I used are found in the link at the end.  The one I found the time to cook these in the crockpot was different and can’t seem to find that one…

The above picture is not all the ingredients used… that was only the photo I took after putting them together… whoops!

Ingredients Needed:

• 1 pound ground venison
• 1/4 cup chopped white onion
• 1/2 cup plain breadcrumbs
• 1 egg
• 1/2 TBSP chili powder
• 1/2 TBSP minced garlic (or 3 garlic cloves)
• 3/4 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp garlic salt
• 1/4 tsp paprika
• 1/2 TBSP Worcestershire sauce
• 1 TBSP ketchup
• 1/2 TBSP mustard (I used dijon)
• Sprinkle of salt
• Sprinkle of black pepper
• 1 cup BBQ sauce (I used Sweet Baby Ray’s Honey Barbeque Sauce)
• 3-6 TBSP bourbon
• **Fresh parsley and basil are also great to add, but optional

Directions:

1.  Before mixing these, get the crockpot ready to go.  Spray with non-stick spray and add the BBQ sauce.
2.  In a large bowl, add the venison, bread crumbs, egg, chopped onion, chili powder, salt, and pepper.
3.  Mix with your hands and form the meat mixture into 1 inch meatballs (or bigger/smaller)
4.  Add to crockpot as each is rolled into a ball.
5.  Set crockpot on low for 4-5 hours.  If you want the strong bourbon flavor, add this at the very end.  Otherwise, add it at the beginning but keep in mind some of that bourbon may cook off.
6. Periodically, turn with a tong but be careful so that the meatballs don’t fall apart.  I was told venison doesn’t stick too well together, but these did for us.

Original recipe:  https://primalpioneer.com/bbq-bourbon-venison-meatballs/