Basic Jimmy Dean’s Hot Sausage and Beef Meatballs

I really like using this mixture of meats for when I’m stuffing my balls with more delicate or sloppier fillings. This is the meatball base that I like to use when I decide to put a little extra time into my meatball and freeze the filling. Jimmy Dean’s Sausage has such a great flavor and texture and when you mix a half of a pound with a half a pound of ground beef the meat comes together really nicely for stuffed meatballs. I use this combination in so many different things and I also use Jimmy Dean’s sausage in so many other things I make. The Hot variety is a staple in my 3rd Place Chili recipe and my spicy sausage dip I make for football games. Either the hot or the regular variety is a staple in any of the breakfast bakes I make, whether it’s in the form of sausage gravy on the top of the bake or mixed in with the eggs and potatoes.

Some of the meatballs that I use this basic recipe for are my Chili Cheese Stuffed Meatballs, my Mac & Cheese Stuffed Meatballs, and my Cottage Pie Meatballs. I really like the way the meat mixture holds up for both the ball rolling process, but also during the cooking process. Since I stuff meatballs with various fillings that always produce expansion and steam – like mashed potatoes or chili or cheese, there’s always a chance that you will run into some leakage, but this meat mixture helps minimize that from happening. A lot of times I take pictures of the meatballs that I make that hold together and the ones that lose a little of their filling or split open. I do this on purpose to make sure that you know that it’s going to happen and it’s totally fine. The meatballs always taste amazing even if they don’t come out perfect.

The mixture of Jimmy Dean’s Sausage and beef is such a nice change from just straight-up beef meatballs. The overall texture of them is different too. I know it’s pretty traditional to have a mix of pork and beef in a meatball but I think the addition of Jimmy Dean’s sausage makes them a little special. Hopefully, Jimmy Dean’s is listening because I’d love to partner with them for all my meatball ideas!

All of my basic meatballs fall into the category of a great base for a meatball that are really easy to roll into meatballs and throw in the oven. You can totally scoop a lump of the mixture into your hand to make these meatballs and eyeball the amount to grab for each meatball. This is my go-to method since I’ve been making meatballs forever. If you’re new to making meatballs and you’re concerned about having them come out with the same amount of meat in each meatball you can always order one of those meatballers to make sure you’re scooping out the same amount of meat mixture for each meatball.

If you’d like to kick the spice level in these meatballs I totally suggest using Jimmy Dean’s Hot Sausage for the mix. I personally am a fan of anything spicy and have a tendency to put hot sauce on a lot of things, or fresh and pickled jalapenos on my food to the point where I can’t feel my lips. When using Jimmy Dean’s Hot Sausage, these meatballs don’t turn out nearly that hot, but the Jimmy Dean’s Hot sausage does give these balls a little kick. You can always swap out one of the other varieties of Jimmy Dean’s sausages if you want to avoid the heat and add other flavors to your recipe.

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