Cowboy Meatballs (Boy Scout Dinners)
Savory meatballs perfectly steamed in aluminum foil packets with vegetables. Fun fare that both children and adults will gobble right up! If you don’t have rosemary, just use butter! If you don’t like mushrooms, leave them out. Make it how you like it, This recipe does NOT disappoint!
Savory meatballs perfectly steamed in aluminum foil packets with vegetables. Fun fare that both children and adults will gobble right up! If you don’t have rosemary, just use butter! If you don’t like mushrooms, leave them out. Make it how you like it, This recipe does NOT disappoint!
- 1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
- 1 pound ground beef
- pepper
- 1/4 cup butter
- kosher salt
- 1 large onion
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 8 oz can tomato sauce
- 1/2 cup cooked rice
- 5 red potatoes
- 3 carrots
- 1 cup fresh sliced mushrooms
- 2 cloves minced garlic
- 1 sprig fresh rosemary chopped or 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
- ====homemade bbq sauce====
- *you can use store bought bbq sauce if you want i love sweet baby ray’s.
- 1/2 can tomato paste (3 oz)
- spicy mustard to taste
- heavy duty tin foil (or double up regular)
- parchment paper
- Carbohydrate 157.297452653111 g
- Cholesterol 215.227655877734 mg
- Fat 57.8997210311294 g
- Fiber 7.63634041339002 g
- Protein 49.2198636882684 g
- Saturated Fat 28.063073956998 g
- Serving Size 1 1 (758g)
- Sodium 1205.79100927315 mg
- Sugar 149.661112239721 g
- Trans Fat 6.71940176982289 g
- Calories 1326 calories
Step-by-step
- Wash and partly peel the potatoes. Half, then fourth them, making them bite sized. Par boil them for about 4 minutes, just so a fork can poke into them, but still firm. This will help them cook quicker in the foil.
- Cut up onions and carrots. Separate potatoes, onions, mushrooms and carrots into their own bowls. Set aside.
- Mix in a large bowl worcestershire sauce, garlic, and a few shakes of salt and pepper. Add ground beef and cooked rice, combine with hands. Roll mixture into about 1.5"-2" meatballs. Be careful not to pack the meatballs too firm, because if you do, the meatballs will dry out and be tough. This will make about 5-6 meatballs, depending on how big you make them.
- Make the BBQ sauce by combining all of the ingredients together.
- Mix together softened (not melted!) butter and rosemary with a spoon.
- Now it’s time to assemble! Tear off about 24" of tin foil, and just about the same amount of parchment paper. The parchment paper helps the food not stick to the foil.
- Lay the parchment paper inside the tin foil, and put the onions, carrots, potatoes and mushrooms on top of the parchment paper. Add the meatballs, and spoon on a couple tablespoons of BBQ sauce, then top the whole thing off with a few dollops of rosemary butter! Sprinkle generously with salt.
- Fold up the foil, making sure it’s completely sealed around all the edges so no steam can escape.
- When you are ready to cook your tin foil dinners, make sure the coals and fire are really hot! You don’t want to place your dinners directly in the flames, but off to the side in a nice hot nook, with possibly some hot coals on top. After about 30-40 minutes open them up to check and see if the meat is done. If it is, great! Of not, try ten more minutes!
- Serve with the extra BBQ sauce.
Ground beef carries the weight of this dish, providing cheap, dense protein that extends easily when combined with cooked rice. Rice acts as a traditional extender, absorbing released fat and keeping the meat mixture tender without requiring expensive fillers. Parboiling potatoes for exactly four minutes ensures they finish cooking inside the foil before the beef overcooks, preventing raw centers. Heavy-duty aluminum foil combined with unbleached parchment paper prevents acidic tomato sauce from causing metallic off-flavors during extended storage.
Freezing these packets raw works exceptionally well for advance meal prep. Assemble the raw beef mixture, vegetables, and sauce inside the parchment and foil layers, then transfer the unopened packets directly to the freezer for up to three months. Thaw completely in the refrigerator for 24 hours before cooking over hot coals or in a 400-degree oven for 40 minutes. Internal meat temperatures must reach 160 degrees Fahrenheit for food safety.
Doubling or tripling ingredients scales this method easily for groups. Maintain individual 24-inch foil sheets per portion rather than combining everything into one giant pouch to ensure even heat penetration across all vegetables.
