Meaty Monday Meatballs

I love meatballs….I have several go-to recipes, but they’re all Italian Jersey Shore style and I wanted to change it up a bit.  Meet Asian Persuasian Meatballs with a little Snooki mixed in.  I mean, you always need a little mozzarella with your meatballs.  The only Meatball Problem you’re gonna have is that they’ll be gone faster than The Situation’s shirt on a Saturday night.

Ingredients:

1 pound ground beef

1 pound ground pork

1 onion (pulverized in the food processor)

4 garlic cloves chopped

2 Tb fresh chopped ginger (or use the same amount with Gourmet Garden’s Ginger tube in the produce aisle)

2 jalapeños

2 Tb soy sauce or Tamari

1 Tb garlic powder

2 Tb Sriracha sauce

1 cup shredded mozzarella

1 egg

1/2 cup breadcrumbs

1 cup cilantro chopped

Spring onions chopped for garnish

2 Tb butter

1 Tb olive oil

Directions:

My grandmother’s meatballs were legendary in our family.  She would put her onion and parsley in the food processor till they were pure liquid and then mix it into the meat. That way, you don’t get any chunks of onion when you bite into the meatballs, but you still get all the flavor.  Brilliant. For this recipe, I blast the onion in the food processor for about 30 seconds and pour it all into a big bowl with the meat.  Add all of the other ingredients and mix with your meaty hands (don’t be afraid to get ’em dirty!) Ball up into golf ball size balls.

Preheat oven to 400.

Heat up 2 Tb butter and 1 Tb olive oil in a frying pan on med/high heat till butter gets bubbly, then add meatballs in batches.  Don’t crowd the pan too much– I do about 6 at a time.  Brown on all sides– about 5-7 minutes total.

Put those bad boys on a rimmed cookie sheet (I put foil down and spray with Pam) and bake for 20 minutes until cooked through.  Make sure you test one out to double check they’re done!  (And to double check the delicious factor….)

While meatballs are baking, make your dipping sauce.  Saute the chopped garlic cloves in 1 Tb olive oil on medium heat for a minute– keep an eye on it so it doesn’t burn.  Add 1/2 of a chopped jalapeño, the soy sauce, sugar, sherry, spring onion and ginger.  Bring to a simmer and then turn heat down to low to keep warm until meatballs are done.

I usually make this with rice– then add some of the dipping sauce to your rice…it’s awesome.  Drizzle the sauce on the meatballs and make sure to put a little extra sauce on the side for added dipping pleasure!

Dipping Sauce:

1 1/2 cups soy sauce or Tamari

3 Tb sugar

1 Tb fresh ginger chopped

2 garlic cloves chopped

1/2 chopped jalapeño

1 chopped spring onion

1 Tb sherry (use the real thing, not anything labeled “cooking sherry”)