It's almost 3am, and I just pulled my last batch of sausage balls out of the oven. I make them every year, but I was slack this year. I've been trying to get around to it the past few days, but with our drain problems I just haven't had the chance. I finally decided at midnight tonight I was going to make them.
I don't go all out and make the perfect sausage balls from scratch. I'm the throw them together with Bisquick kinda gal, so it's simple and quick. Yeah it took me 3 hours to make them, but I make them for our entire family, so I ended up having to make 4 batches.
Here's the simple recipe I use.
1lb sausage (spiciness is up to you)
10oz grated cheese (I mix mild cheddar, sharp cheddar, and monterey jack)
2 cups Bisquick
Nope, I don't add extra water or milk to mine. If you mix everything well enough you don't need it, and you don't want your mixture to be too gooey to roll into balls.
Mix the Bisquick and cheese together. If you're using pre-grated cheese you can throw it all in at once. If you've grated it yourself you should add a little at a time because the cheese holds more moisture and tends to clump together.
After you've got your Bisquick and cheese mixed well, start adding the sausage a little at a time. If you throw it all in at once it will take you much longer to mix. Work the mixture until you can form a large dough like ball with it. I wish I could have taken photos while I was mixing mine up, but I didn't think to plug my camera up to charge until I already had the first batch in the oven.
Roll out balls about the size of a walnut. Don't go any larger than a golf ball or you'll end up burning the outside before the inside cooks. Hubby has a habit of trying to roll them softball size, so I have to wait until he goes to sleep to make them now.
You'll have to adjust your baking temperature and time according to your own oven. I set mine at 300 degrees for 20 minutes, but most recipes I've seen call for 325 to 400 for 15-20 minutes. Last year I royally screwed up by letting my first batch bake at 350 for 15 minutes in a new oven without checking on them, and they were totally scorched. Just keep an eye on them, and pull them out of the oven when the tops are golden brown.
I think sausage balls are one of the easiest "holiday" things to make. I tend to make them year round as appetizers just because they're so simple, but our family goes sausage ball crazy for Christmas. I also make a variation of these that Hubby calls "Mexican balls". We just buy bags of the Mexican or Taco premixed cheese.
Anywho, here's what my first batch looked like when they were done. These also stayed in just a few minutes too long, so the bottoms are a little darker than I would normally like.
Now I just have to make 2 cheesecakes, sugar cookies, chocolate chip cookies, and chocolate covered pretzels. I think I'll wait until tomorrow for all that though. I'm too tired to finish baking tonight.
