With New Year’s Eve coming up, I want to share with you one of our favourite recipes perfect for a buffet or cocktail party… or serve it with rice for a main course as this recipe makes an abundant amount of sauce.
By the way, ground chuck is available at your local butcher and is much meatier in flavour than typical ground beef.
All the best of health and happiness to you in 2018.
Honey Garlic Meatballs
“Combining two different types of meat gives the meatballs more complex flavour and seasoned with Chinese 5 Spice powder they are perfect with this sauce. Enjoy!”
1 pound (454g) ground chuck
1 pound (454g) lean ground pork
2 large eggs
1/2 cup fine bread crumbs
1/4 cup minced onion
2 tbsp finely crushed or minced garlic
1 tbsp Chinese 5 Spice powder
2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
• Sauce
1 cup + 2 tbsp beef broth
3/4 cup brown sugar (not golden sugar)
1/2 cup liquid honey
6 tbsp soy sauce
3 tbsp cornstarch
1.5 tbsp finely crushed garlic
1/2 tsp salt
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
Spray a baking sheet with baking spray, or line with parchment paper, and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, combine the chuck, pork, eggs, bread crumbs, onion, garlic, 5 spice, 2 tsp salt & the pepper. Mix until thoroughly combined into a homogenous mixture. Roll bits of the mixture into small meatballs approximately 3/4 (three quarter) inch in size and place them on the prepared baking sheet. You should have approximately 45 to 50 meatballs. Bake in the preheated oven for approximately 20 minutes, or until their internal temperature reaches 160 degrees Fahrenheit (71 degrees Celsius).
3. While the meatballs are cooking, prepare the sauce by placing the beef broth, brown sugar, honey, soy sauce, cornstarch, garlic and half tsp salt in a medium heavy-bottomed pot.
Place on medium-high heat and bring to a boil stirring occasionally. When it just starts to boil stir constantly until it has reached a full rolling boil. It must reach a full boil to activate the cornstarch thickener fully.
Remove from the heat and set aside.
4. Place the cooked meatballs on paper towel temporarily to remove some of the fat. Transfer the meatballs to a serving dish, cover with the sauce and serve immediately with or without cooked rice.
Makes 45 to 50, 3/4 inch meatballs
.
- Chef Dez is a food columnist and culinary instructor in the Fraser Valley.
Visit him at www.chefdez.com. Send questions to dez@chefdez.com,
or to P.O. Box 2674, Abbotsford, B.C. V2T 6R4