Saucy Asian Meatballs
My family really likes meatballs & because we generally have a good supply of ground game that I need to use up, I don't mind making them. However, sometimes I just want something a little different than the traditional Italian meatball in red sauce, so I created these sweet & tender little guys to change things up a little.
These Saucy Asian Meatballs have all the flavor in the meat you would expect from an authentic Asian dish & the sauce is slightly sweet with a hint of orange essence. The green onions & sesame seeds add just the right amount of nutty savory flavor to round this dish out perfectly.
Saucy Asian Meatballs
{makes about 20 meatballs}
ingredients
for the meatballs:
2 pounds lean ground beef or ground wild game
1 cup almond flour
2 eggs, slightly beaten
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons each: cilantro & green onion - both finely chopped
1 teaspoon sesame oil, plus a little bit to grease baking dish
2 teaspoons garam masala
1-1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
for the sauce:
2/3 cup coconut aminos
2/3 cup tomato sauce
1/4 cup orange juice
3 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons each: tomato paste, fish sauce, arrowroot flour & finely chopped green onion
4 teaspoons sesame oil
zest of one orange
optional garnish: sesame seeds, green onions
directions
preheat the oven to 400º
place all the ingredients for the meatballs in a large bowl or stand mixer. mix together using hands or use the meat attachment on your stand mixer until blended well
form into balls that are about 1-1/2" round & place in a large greased {10x13} glass baking dish. place in the oven for 15 minutes
while the meatballs are in the oven, zest the orange* into a medium size mixing bowl, then juice the orange. whisk 1/4 cup of the orange juice with 2 tablespoons of arrowroot flour in a small bowl & set aside for 5 minutes
in the medium size mixing bowl with the orange zest add in the tomato paste, tomato sauce, coconut aminos, fish sauce, honey, sesame oil & finely chopped green onion. then add in the orange juice mixture & whisk all of these together
at the end of the 15 minutes of the meatballs time in the oven, pour the sauce evenly over all the meatballs & bake an additional 5 minutes
let rest on counter 5 minutes before serving
these are great to serve alone, with cauli-rice or stick some toothpicks in them to serve as hors d'oeuvres at a party.
* be sure to zest your orange before you juice it to make this process much easier!