Halloween Eyeball Meatballs

We've all seen the pumpkin cheeseball and the mummy wrapped hot dogs. Now it's time to step up your Halloween appetizer game and serve your guests some tasty meatball sliders, but you know, spooky style. Keep in mind, this recipe will produce a lot of meatballs (around 50 depending how big you like your balls) - so unless you're expecting a large crowd, we recommend you plan on a spaghetti and meatball night the same week or freeze some to enjoy in the future.

The Ingredients

Meatballs

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 lb ground pork
• 1 lb ground veal
• 1¾ cups Italian bread crumbs
• 1 head fresh garlic, divided
• 1 cup fresh parsley, chopped
• 1½ cups pecorino Romano cheese, grated
• 6 eggs, lightly beaten
• 3 tsp salt
• 1 tsp black pepper
• ¼ tsp red pepper
• 2 cups water
• Oil, for frying

Spooky Garnish

• Mozzarella pearls
• Olives, sliced
• Marinara sauce
• Slider buns
  

The Steps

1. Finely chop all but two cloves of garlic. Add chopped garlic and all other meatball ingredients to a large bowl and combine. Once combined, transfer the bowl to the refrigerator and allow the meatball mixture to cool for 30 minutes.
2. Add oil (and the two cloves of garlic) to your cast iron skillet and heat on low/medium until it reaches a temperature of around 325°F.
3. Remove the mixture from the refrigerator and roll the meatballs (meatballs should be slightly larger than a golf ball).
4. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
5. Add meatballs to the skillet in batches (without over stuffing the skillet). Cook on each side about 2/3 minutes or until the meatball starts to brown.
6. Remove meatballs from the skillet and place onto a sheet pan until you’re ready to get them into the oven.
7. Bake pre-fried meatballs for 10-13 minutes or until they’re fully cooked through.
8. To serve, add marinara sauce to the skillet, then place meatballs in the sauce. Carefully place a mozzarella pearl on top of each meatball and set the skillet into the oven with the broiler on high. Keep an eye on the mozzarella pearls and remove from the oven once you see them starting to flatten out and melt. Place a sliced olive on top of each melted mozzarella pearl. Scoop some marinara sauce into each of the slider buns and place the meatballs inside, ensuring the eyeball is visible on the outside. Enjoy!

Prep Time: 20 min
Cook Time: 40 min
Serves: 15-20