Surf and turf meatballs — bacon-wrapped, with shrimp

In short

The list is beef mince, bacon, and shrimp. You are not standing over a pan, and there is no sauce project. You shape, wrap, set them in a glass dish, and use the oven. Several portions come out at once and get eaten over days. Once you have prepped it, you see why it earns a lunch slot.

Ingredients (4 meatballs)

• 400 g beef mince (organic if you want it, not required)
• 100 g bacon strips
• 100 g shrimp (pre-cooked)

Four balls of about 100 g mince each. A typical meal, usually lunch: two meatballs plus 2–3 hard-boiled eggs. Sometimes one is enough when hunger is modest.

Method

You form four balls from the mince. Wrap each with two strips of bacon, snug enough that nothing slides. They go into an ovenproof glass dish. Twenty minutes at 200 °C / 400 °F fan, then you turn them, add the shrimp, and give it another ten minutes at 200 °C / 400 °F fan, or the grill / broil setting, until the bacon is crisp.

Add the shrimp late or they go rubbery. That is the one step people forget when they are distracted.

Storage and meal prep

They keep several days in the fridge. Freezing and thawing are uneventful. For a daily lunch, take two meatballs out and add hard-boiled eggs. Done, and no cooking at midday.

Mince, bacon, and shrimp cover the protein. On a strict or near-carnivore plate you barely need a side. Animal-based eaters can add some fruit; that is a different plate.

Practice notes

A glass dish is useful because you can store and reheat in the same vessel. If you want it crisper, switch to grill / broil for the last minutes. Salt and pepper to taste, though the bacon often does the job already.

Further reading

• Bone broth
• The first 30 days
• Sourcing and quality
• Tools and gear