Mariachi Beefballs & Rice

Mariachi Beefballs & Rice

Mariachi Beefballs & Rice

Beefballs… because we didn’t want to confuse you with the general term, “meatballs”. These are PURE BEEF!

This is the second recipe in our series of recipes taken from Trail Boss’s Cowboy Cookbook! This book contains recipes for traditional dishes prepared for cowboys working on the range. These recipes are nothing fancy. They are plain, wholesome and designed to satisfy the appetites of men who spent long hours in the saddle.

For being a “trail” recipe, once cooked along a cattle drive, this recipe surprised us and was SUPER delicious! This is different from any other Mexican dish we’ve made before and we can’t wait to share it!

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Before cooking this recipe, please allow plenty of time for thawing your beef! We recommend thawing 1 of 2 ways. Beef thaws best in the refrigerator! For a pound of ground beef, we suggest at least 6 hours of defrost time. Second best option would be thawing in cold water. If your beef is vacuum sealed, you are probably safe to soak the package straight in the water. Otherwise, place your frozen beef in a sealed Ziploc bag for its defrost bath! Change the water out every 20-30 minutes until the meat is fully thawed.

First, we prep for our beefballs! In a large bowl, combine 2 lbs of thawed beef, 1 egg, ½ C, 1 ½ C crushed corn chips (we used Fritos) & 1 tsp salt. Mix the ingredients with your hands until they are all combined evenly. Put the mixture in the refrigerator for 1 hour to let it thicken a little. 

After 1 hour has passed, we make the beefballs! Remove the beef mixture from the fridge and shape into balls (approximately 2 TBSP each - I used a cookie scoop to get even balls). As you make the beefballs, roll them in flour to completely coat the outside, then set them aside. In a large skillet, heat 2 TBSP of butter, then sauté the beefballs to brown them on all sides. At this point they DO NOT need to be cooked through, you are only browning them. Once browned, remove from the skillet and set aside. 

Next, we will make our vegetable mixture. Using the same skillet, melt 2 more TBSP of butter, then sauté one chopped yellow onion and 1 TBSP of minced garlic for about 5 minutes until the onion is transparent. Turn off the stove. In a small bowl, stir together 1 tsp chili powder, ¼ tsp cumin, 1 tsp salt & ½ TBSP flour. Sprinkle these seasonings into the onion and garlic & stir until combined, then stir in one can of rotel. Spread this vegetable mixture out evenly to cover the surface of the skillet. 

At this point, you should start your Mexican rice! Cook according to the box.

Now, we cook our beefballs. Place the beefballs back into the large skillet by placing them on top of the vegetable mixture. Cover the skillet and simmer for 20 minutes. This will steam the beefballs and cook them the rest of the way through. 

Once the 20 minutes are up, your beefballs should be cooked through (cut the largest one open to be sure) & your Mexican rice should be about done. To serve this dish, plate a bed of rice, cover it in the vegetable mixture, then place the beefballs on top & ENJOY!

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Mariachi Beefballs & Rice

Defrost Time: ~6 hours in refrigerator

Preparation Time: 1 hour & 10 minutes (only 10 mins of work)

Cook Time: 40 minutes

Servings: 6

Ingredients:

  • 2 lbs Hickok Hamburger ground beef
  • 4 TBSP butter
  • 1 egg
  • 1 ½ C crushed corn chips (we used Fritos)
  • ½ C milk
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 2 ½ TBSP flour
  • 1 chopped yellow onion
  • 1 TBSP minced garlic
  • 1 tsp chili powder
  • ¼ tsp cumin
  • 1 can rotel
  • Mexican Rice (& what’s needed to make it - see box instructions)

Instructions:

*please start this recipe with one hour to spare for the meat mixture to thicken in the refrigerator*

  1. DEFROST MEAT - please make sure you leave enough time to defrost your ground beef completely before starting.
  2. In a large bowl, combine beef, egg, corn chips, milk & 1 tsp salt. Mix well with hands until fully combined, then set mixture in the refrigerator to thicken for 1 HOUR.
  3. After an hour, remove meat mixture from the fridge and shape into balls (approximately 2 TBSP each - I used a cookie scoop to get even sized beefballs). As you form them, roll them in flour, then set them aside. 
  4. In a large skillet, heat 2 TBSP of butter, then add in the beefballs. Brown them on all sides, then remove from the skillet & set aside. 
  5. In the same skillet, heat 2 more TBSP of butter, then add in the chopped onion and minced garlic. Cook for about 5 minutes until the onions begin to look transparent. Then turn off the heat.
  6. In a small bowl, combine chili powder, cumin, remaining salt and ½ tsp flour. Sprinkle over the onion & garlic mixture and stir it in, then stir in one can of rotel. 
  7. *At this point you should start to make your Mexican rice! Follow the instructions listed on the box.*
  8. Spread the vegetable mixture evenly across the surface of the skillet, then replace the beefballs into the skillet on top of the veggies. Cover the skillet with a lid and simmer for 20 minutes. This will cook the beefballs the rest of the way by steaming them. 
  9. Once the 20 minutes are up, cut open the largest beefball to be sure it is cooked through. At this point your beefballs should be fully cooked and your Mexican rice should be finishing up. 
  10. To serve this dish, plate a bed of Mexican rice, cover the rice in the vegetable mixture, then top with a few beefballs! 
  11. ENJOY!

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