Sunday, December 23, 2007

something for the carnivores

with party/holiday season upon us, last minute dishes to take to get-togethers or serve at home are always needed. this meatball dish is always well-liked and received, and couldn't be easier to throw together, as there are very few ingredients involved.

like most meatball dishes, it goes very well served with rice — if the sauce is reduced enough, it can be placed in a chafing dish and served with toothpicks as an appetizer.

whichever way you serve them, they're good ;) just remember, this is very sweet. if you don't like that kind of stuff, this one isn't for you!


sweet 'n sour meatballs, the easy way

ingredients:

meatballs:

454 g ground beef (1 lb)
3 eggs
1 c fresh breadcrumbs / 1/2 c - 1 c dry
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/4 - 1/2 tsp pepper, or to taste
1/2 c finely chopped onion
2 large cloves garlic, minced

2 to 3 tbsp oil to brown meatballs

sauce:

1 can regular coke (not diet)* 355 mL
1/3 c water
1/2 c light brown sugar, packed
1 c ketchup
2 - 4 tbsp lemon juice or vinegar

optionally,

1/8 to 1/4 tsp ground ginger powder & cinnamon, if wanted
1 small can drained cut pineapple

*you can use sprite, 7-up or ginger ale instead.

method:

place onions, garlic, meat and seasonings in bowl.

add the eggs and mix well.

add the breadcrumbs and mix until blended.

with wet hands, make small meatballs and place on a plate.

over medium high heat, brown the meatballs in the oil. you may have to do 2 batches if your pan is small. i do it in a le creuset type 'marmite'. turn down the heat as necessary to medium. make sure the oil and pan is hot when you add the meatballs as putting them in a cold pan usually causes them to stick.

once browned all over, drain excess oil. if there are any blackened bits of onion & garlic, discard them.

add the coke to the meatballs.

add the brown sugar, lemon juice and ketchup.

mix well.

bring to boil, and then cover and lower heat to minimum. cook covered for 30 minutes.

after 30 minutes, place the lid slightly opened to let the steam escape and continue to cook for another 15 to 20 minutes, until the sauce thickens.

be careful as the sauce tends to splutter as it cooks; i keep the lid opened only slightly.

serve over rice or with noodles.

enjoy!

11 comments:

Emily DeVoto, Ph.D., said...

I confess, I shared your blog with a friend yesterday, and he scoffed at the Coke. But I told him to cut you some slack :) .

burekaboy — said...

emily - LOL — what!? you don't appreciate cordon bleu recipes when you see them?? despite the coke, it's actually a popular (i.e. well liked) recipe .... go figure.

Unknown said...

Ha -- I was surprised as well. It is a little out of character for this blog! Well, as a non-carn, I'll never be able to verify it one way or the other. Maybe chicken breast braised in Mountain Dew would be great, for all I know!

Those ginger cookies from the other day look fantastic, BTW!

burekaboy — said...

hi ong - hehe, i shall never live this one down :(( LOL. don't kid yourself, mountain dew braised chicken breasts has probably been done before!

the ginger shortbread are a must try. seriously. (i give them away fast or i eat them ALL!)

thanks for the comment; happy holidays :)

Rosa's Yummy Yums said...

Your recipe has caught my attention! I love the idea of adding coke to the meatballs. It must give the sauce a special taste.

There are many coke-based dishes that I'd like to try...

Cheers,

Rosa

burekaboy — said...

rosa - this one is really sweet but you can adjust it to your taste.

coke in recipes is a very american thing. it does work well in some items, though, even if people tend to think of it as a strange/odd thing to add.

TopChamp said...

yup - sounds odd to me! I do have all these ingredients though minus the coke and was wondering what to make tomorrow... sounds pretty easy. Tonight we're having venison stew with juniper berries because of the scottish juniper new year tradition - they used to waft a burning sprig of juniper around to purify the house. Don't fancy setting off the smoke alarm doing this so eating berries sounds like a better idea to me.

Lisa said...

I may just have to try these; my husband would go ga-ga over them!

burekaboy — said...

hey TC - guess you have to live in north america for this sort of thing! LOL. wow, juniper berries. sounds very swedish/nordic! guess i don't associate juniper with the scots ;o in any event, hope you enjoy your venison stew and wish you ALL the best for 2008!

hey lisa - hehe, be forewarned it's a seriously sweet recipe! you may want to cut down the brown sugar a little. it's sort of chinese food - jewishy sweet, if you get my meaning.

TopChamp said...

I got a can of coke ready and told my boyfriend about the recipe..... next thing I know he's drinking the coke.

When I told a friend about it later on he admitted he drank the coke to stop me making the recipe!

Happy 2008 (cute cat in a hat!!).

burekaboy — said...

oh TC - you always make me laugh :)) sneaky BF, he is. btw, it really IS good with pineapple chunks and red & green peppers. but hey, every has their own opinion, even if it is wrong LOL LOL.

hope your kitty is doing well, too. all the best to you and yours for the new year!