Social Media is flooded with different recipes and videos and items to make all sorts of recipes. I also belong to several cast iron sites because I have fallen in love with cooking with cast iron. I kept seeing these bacon bombs floating around facebook and thought it would be too time consuming and too difficult to make. At the same time, when it involves hamburger, huge Vidalia onions, bacon, and BBQ, what could you not possibly love with that combination, no matter how long it takes to make? Much to my surprise, it was incredibly easy to make!
When I told my husband what we were having, he looked at me like I was crazy. Again, I mentioned the ingredients and asked the same thing to him as I did above, what is not to love about hamburger, onions, bacon, and BBQ? He said he just wasn’t sure how it would come out. After reminding him that I could easily call my 23 year old over to eat it instead, he said he would give it a try!
The inside of the Bacon Bombs is basically your favorite meatloaf recipe. Add your own touches and your own spices. Start with 2 pounds of ground beef. I add in garlic powder, black pepper, sea salt, onion powder, and smoked paprika. Be careful not to over mix your ground beef or it becomes mushy, just like with meatloaf. I add in 1 cup of bread crumbs, 1 cup of milk, and 1 beaten egg to the mixture. With meatloaf, I add in ketchup. For the bacon bombs, I added in about 1/3-1/2 cup of BBQ sauce. Some people mix everything with a spoon, but I just dig in with clean hands and start mixing it all together carefully. Set the mixture to the side.
When I went to the store, I picked up 4 huge Vidalia onions, worried that would not be enough for us with leftovers too. However, once I realized how to assemble the bombs, I only used one large onion, but could have easily used two because I had enough meat leftover for a small meatloaf. After taking the outer skin off, cut the Vidalia in half vertically. Lay the matched pieces together of each layer. I did not use the really small layers inside but tossed them into a container to use for another recipe. You want the layers to be able to hold little balls of meat and the really tiny ones won’t hold together.
Now, just start grabbing a small handful of meat, pack into a ball, and wrap the matching onion pieces around it. Sit to the side and assemble all your meat bombs.
Who doesn’t love bacon? While I swear at one time I could eat my weight and yours in bacon, over the last year, I have stopped eating it due to dietary needs. But my husband still has his love of bacon so my bombs, I just secured with toothpicks through the onion peels and his, I lovingly wrapped with that 2-3 pieces of that delicious goodness. Secure the bacon pieces with toothpicks.
I put each bomb into a 12 inch cast iron skillet and placed my little bacon-less bomb into a small cast iron skillet. Place into a preheated 425 oven for approximately 45 minutes. I did drain the bacon grease about halfway through the time. Next time, I will place a rack in the skillet to allow for the bacon to drip off the bombs. During the last 5 minutes of cooking, pour BBQ sauce over the bacon bombs and place back into the oven. Be sure the temperature reaches at least 165 degrees before removing from oven.
Before serving, take out the toothpicks. With the meat, onions, and bacon, we paired our bombs with a nice wedge salad. You could add in fries, mashed potatoes, rice, or veggies if you wanted. We found th bombs themselves were very filling though!
After his first bite, Robert decided this needed to be on our monthly rotation of meals. It was simply delicious!
Start with 2 pounds of ground beef. I add in garlic powder, black pepper, sea salt, onion powder, and smoked paprika. Be careful not to over mix your ground beef or it becomes mushy, just like with meatloaf. I add in 1 cup of crushed saltine crackers, 1 cup of milk, and 1 beaten egg to the mixture. With meatloaf, I add in ketchup. For the bacon bombs, I added in about 1/3-1/2 cup of BBQ sauce.
2 pounds ground beef
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp black ground pepper
1 tsp sea salt or kosher salt
½ tsp smoked paprika
1 cup of crushed saltines or bread crumbs
1 cup of milk
1 egg, beaten
1 cup of BBQ sauce, divided
2-3 Large Vidalia Onions
1 package of bacon
Heat oven to 425 degrees. Mix the first 8 ingredients, along with 1/3 to ½ cup of BBQ sauce. Cut the onions in half vertically and place each side of the onion together to the side. After all slices are matched together, roll a small handful meat into a ball and place an onion slice on each side. When completed with all balls and onions, wrap 2-3 pieces of bacon around the onion bomb and place in a cast iron skillet or baking dish with sides to catch the grease. Place in oven approximately 45 minutes. Drain grease as needed. During the last 5 minutes of cooking, cover each bomb with BBQ sauce and cook the remaining 5 minutes. Remove toothpicks before serving.
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