Step 1

Crumble the beef into a plastic bowl and sprinkle with the steak seasoning and black pepper; add the egg.

Step 2

Crisp the bacon and crumble, dice dill pickles, and cut the cheese into small cubes.

Step 3

Add the crumbled bacon, diced pickles, and cubes of cheese to the ground beef and use your hands to gently combine ingredients. (Don’t over-mix; that will make the meatballs tough.)

Step 4

Use a 1/4 cup measuring cup to scoop out the beef mixture and then form it into a meatball, tucking the cheese cubes inside as you make the meatballs.

Step 5

Put formed meatballs on a small baking sheet and put them in the fridge to chill for 30-40 minutes. This will help the meatballs keep their shape on the hot grill.

Step 6

When you’re ready to cook, put the grilling pan (affiliate link) on top of the grill grates to heat while you preheat grill to medium-high heat. (You can also cook on a Stovetop Grill Pan (affiliate link), which should also be preheated.)

Step 7

Remove meatballs from the fridge and brush on both sides with a little olive oil to help prevent sticking.

Step 8

Put meatballs on the grilling pan to cook, turning them about every 2 minutes so they’re getting browned on all sides.

Step 9

Start checking for doneness after about 15 minutes. (We used an instant-read meat thermometer to check for an internal temperature of at least 160F/102C. If you don’t have a thermometer like that and don’t want to buy one, you can cut open a meatball and make sure the inside is cooked through.)

Step 10

Serve hot, with dipping sauce for dipping meatballs if desired.

Step 11

These meatballs reheat well, so you may want to double the recipe to be sure you’ll have plenty left over to re-heat for another meal!