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Mountain Meatballs
I’ve been on a meatball binge all week, no idea why. Must be hormonal. Now, don’t give me that look… there are worse things to binge on! I’m Dutch… trust me, there are far worse things.
I just couldn’t resist this divine meatball recipe I saw in ‘Jamie’s America‘ cookbook. I tweaked the heck out of it, though.
The weather’s been fantastic here, finally it’s spring, so we fired up the pit and Christened the Big Green Egg Dutch oven after I managed to perfectly season it.
What’s the fuss about all about? Meatballs stuffed with cheddar and simmered in a wondrously pungent chili sauce. After eating these I have a far better understanding for Jamie’s need for a food revolution: this sure is no light cooking.
But, oh boy, this is it… soul food!
Meatballs:
2 pounds ground beef
4 oz cheddar
2 small red onions
1 1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
3 tsp salt (4 if you like it salty)
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp chili powder
2 large eggs
2 handfuls breadcrumbs
Chili sauce:
1 large red onion
2 bell peppers
2 chili peppers
3 plum tomatoes
5 tbsp molasses
1 tbsp brown sugar
5 tbsp cider vinegar
6 tbsp ketchup
5 garlic cloves
6 tbsp worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp sweet smokey paprika powder
2 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp cocoa powder
1 heaping tsp granulated coffee
1 beef bouillon cube
1 1/2 cup water flat-leaf
flat-leaf parsley
Directions:
There were things about the recipe that did not make sense to me. For instance, Jamie’s use of an oven: he cooked the onions in the oven and he browned the meatballs in the oven. Then he transferred everything to a Dutch oven to simmer it on the stove. It seemed unwieldy. I just used a dutch oven and browned my meatballs in there, on the hob. But well, I’m not a Chef.
Finely mince the red onions. You can sauté them first, or use the oven as Jamie did, I just seasoned them with salt and pepper, poured a tsp oil all over, covered the bowl with microwave-safe plastic wrap and nuked them for 4 minutes at full power. Let the onions cool off.
The original recipe called for 10 garlic cloves. I wimped out and used 5. I also couldn’t find big plum tomatoes, so I used small ones instead.
Remove the seeds from the peppers and give them a coarse chop. Do the same with the large onion. Grate the garlic and cut the tomatoes in fours.
Grate the cheddar. That’s a serious pile of cheese right there. Like I said, it’s by no means a low-fat recipe.
Huge storyboards alert. I managed to put all photos, and there were quite a few in this posting, in only a handful of storyboards. Not too shabby, if I say so myself.
Mix the ground beef with all the ingredients listed under meatballs.
Add the (cooled off) red onions, two handfuls of breadcrumbs and mix it all up. Form 8 big meatballs.
Use your thumb to push a hole into each meatball, fill them with the grated cheddar and close them up again.
Heat some butter and brown the meatballs over medium heat.
Give them a really nice tan all around. Transfer them to a plate and cover them with aluminum foil to keep them warm.
Sauté the red onion, bell peppers and chili peppers for 10 minutes before adding the garlic. Give it another 5 minutes.
In with the smokey paprika powder, molasses, worcestershire sauce, cider vinegar, ketchup, Dijon mustard and cocoa.
Jamie finished his chili sauce with 1 1/2 cups of coffee. Great, but I never would’ve been able to get J-man to eat that, so I opted for beef bouillon and added a heaping tsp granulated coffee. It worked perfectly.
Pour in the water, add the bouillon cube, granulated coffee, brown sugar and tomatoes. Place the meatballs in the sauce and bring it to a boil.
I wanted to get that typically smokey BBQ flavor, so I used my darling Big Green Egg at 350F˚ (175C˚ ) to simmer the meatballs. You can just as easily do this on your stove-top, or even in your oven.
I didn’t put the lid on because the sauce needs to cook down. Give the meatballs 25 to 30 minutes. Garnish with finely chopped parsley.
These babies are so chockfull of flavor: meat, gooey cheese and chili sauce. Celestial harmony.
| Mountain Meatballs | |||||||||
| Ingredients |
2 pounds ground beef 4 oz cheddar 2 small red onions 1 1/2 tsp oregano 1/2 tsp ground cumin 1 tsp ground coriander 3 tsp salt (4 if you like it salty) 1/2 tsp pepper 1/2 tsp nutmeg 1 tsp Dijon mustard 1/2 tsp chili powder 2 large eggs 2 handfuls breadcrumbs Chili sauce: 1 large red onion 2 bell peppers 2 chili peppers 3 plum tomatoes 5 tbsp molasses 1 tbsp brown sugar 5 tbsp cider vinegar 6 tbsp ketchup 5 garlic cloves 6 tbsp worcestershire sauce 1/2 tsp sweet smokey paprika powder 2 tbsp Dijon mustard 1 tsp cocoa powder 1 heaping tsp granulated coffee 1 beef bouillon cube 1 1/2 cup water flat-leaf flat-leaf parsley Directions |
|
Remove the seeds from the peppers and give them a coarse chop. Do the same with the large onion. Grate the garlic and cut the tomatoes in fours. Grate the cheddar. Mix the ground beef with all the ingredients listed under meatballs. Add the (cooled off) red onions, two handfuls of breadcrumbs and mix it all up. Form 8 big meatballs. Use your thumb to push a hole into each meatball, fill them with the grated cheddar and close them up again. Heat some butter and brown the meatballs over medium heat. Sauté the red onion, bell peppers and chili peppers for 10 minutes before adding the garlic. Give it another 5 minutes. In with the smokey paprika powder, molasses, worcestershire sauce, cider vinegar, ketchup, Dijon mustard and cocoa. Jamie finished his chili sauce with 1 1/2 cups of coffee. I never would’ve been able to get J-man to eat that, so I opted for beef bouillon and added a heaping tsp granulated coffee. Pour in the water, add the bouillon cube, granulated coffee, brown sugar and tomatoes. Place the meatballs in the sauce and bring it to a boil. I wanted to get that typically smokey BBQ flavor, so I used my Big Green Egg at 350F˚ (175C˚ ) to simmer the meatballs. You can just as easily do this on your stove-top, or even in your oven. I didn’t put the lid on because the sauce needs to cook down. Give the meatballs 25 to 30 minutes. Garnish with finely chopped parsley. Meal type: |
main course, beef, big green egg |
Servings: |
4 |
Copyright: |
© kayotickitchen.com |
|
16 Comments »
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You’re on a roll Kay! We didn’t get any updates for ages and now there’s a gluttonous and wonderful excess of them! I’ve also been wanting to try this meatball recipe and found the instructions odd – In previous meatball recipes he’s never used that method so I wondered whether there was something particularly wonderful about it but, no, it seems not and I would quite do the same as you here!
Its good to hear they turn out so well! Cheese stuffed meat? How could it be wrong!
No updates for ages? Huh? I usually post one or two recipes per week! :)
I have no idea why he used such an unwieldy method. Oven meatballs are great, but no better than those browned on the hob. I also think simmering the meatballs in the sauce gives them so much more flavor than just spooning the sauce over them afterwards. I really didn’t understand his method.
I did tweak the recipe because the first time I made them I felt the meatballs were a little bland and needed more zing. So I added chili powder, more oregano and nutmeg.
I’ve been looking for a good Chili Sauce Recipe (instead of the bottled chili sauce). Looks like I found one. I’m with you on simmering the meatballs in the sauce. I’ll give it a go this weekend. Thanks Kay!
I always make Mexican Chipotle Albondigas, so trying a new meatball recipe makes me nervous, but this sounds great! might have to add at least a few chipotles in there though.
Cant wait to try it!
I’m upping the heat as well next time. It wasn’t spicy enough to my liking!
Mmmmm, those look amazing! Do you think I could make the meatballs and sauce separately and freeze them, and just pull them out to cook later? I’m 9 months pregnant and looking for any good freezer foods I can prepare ahead of time :)
I;m positive you can freeze the meatballs. Not sure how the sauce will hold up, it will probably get a bit more watery after it’s been frozen, but it’s worth trying.
I stumbled upon your website via Pinterest and I am SO GLAD I FOUND YOU!!!
I just made the Mountain Meatballs and they are truly…. (me being speakless)….!!! They are outstanding!
I can’t wait to try some of your other recipes!
Hello new friend!!!!
Hello from New York!
Kay hormonal or not, meatballs are great and I made your Mountain Meatballs tonight and they were great. Going to freeze some too, so that I can heat up anytime I want. Great site, magnificent pictures. Keep it coming. Lisa
Your meatballs looks amazing. I’m going to bookmark your site and try them out this weekend on my BGE! Yep, I’ve got one too. So eggcited to find your site and to find another Egg user. If you get a chance, top by my blog and see some of the stuff we’ve done on our Egg.
That looks so delish! I just wanna say that you’re so amazing with your pictures and recipes. I always love new post and keep going back to old favourites too! Keep up the wonderful work. :)
I made these last night and they were as amazing as they look! I’ve made both meatball recipes that you’ve put up Kay, and I really can’t say which one I like more! Getting ready to make the vanilla cupcakes today!
I made these meatballs last night and i must say they were Fantastic!!! Thanks heaps-My 20year old son even washed the dishes!!!!
Thanks from Australia!!!
I actually manage to did this last week without setting the house on fire, great recipe, so much flavor. Love your website!!!! it is full of surprises.
I just wanted to leave a comment to say that I am in love with your blog and shared it in my short list favorite food blogs on my Cage Free Family site in a post which will air tomorrow morning. There is a book being published in London this fall which features our story and the importance of whole foods to it. It is blogs like yours that allow me to keep inspired and motivated. Thank you.
We made these last night and were soo yummy. Making them again for sure.. Tonight we used the leftover sauce with rice. So next time I am thinking for making rice and serving the meatballs over it.