My Sister’s Family-Favorite BBQ Meatballs

I grew up in rural Minnesota and did (do?) a decent amount of cooking from church cookbooks. This recipe for BBQ meatballs originated with a church cookbook recipe and has been ON REPEAT for us for the last 2-3 months. Bjork and the girls have been so happy.

Sweet, savory, sticky and tender meatballs with some mashed potatoes, maybe some mac and cheese, a steamy pile of green beans? How could you not love it?

My sister brought this one into my life, and it is her kids’ absolute favorite. This is the meal that they ask for for every birthday. We even made them for a Christmas Day dinner last year.

Apologies for the messy pic – this is me happily eating the leftovers for lunch the next day with cucumbers, mashed potatoes, and corn from Bjork’s aunt and uncle’s farm!

I want you guys to know that I tried at least 5 variations to this recipe over the last few months. Would it be better with sauteed onions and peppers in the mix? (Not enough to justify the extra work.) Would cream work instead of evaporated milk? (Evaporated milk is far more tender.) Would the sauce work better with or without the vinegar? (The vinegar gives that sweetness a necessary edge.)

I ended up basically coming back to almost exactly how it was written in this little spiral-bound paper church cookbook.

Hope you love these, hope your kids love these.