sweet & sour meatballs

greenfire

Tue, Oct 23 2012, 4:05 pm

I finally did it ... put together a few recipes to make them just right ~ sweet & sour meatballs never tasted so yumm ... served with quinoa for dd's birthday ... I am pleased ~ very very pleased Tongue Out

[note to self: despite counting 45 meatballs it wasn't enough ~ triple the recipe]

greenfire

Tue, Oct 23 2012, 8:11 pm

that would be difficult considering I don't have measurements ... but I did make it again tonight - only different & the meatball count was 49 What

greenfire

Tue, Oct 23 2012, 8:26 pm

I can tell you what I put in it ... but I can also tell you that yesterday's was way better than today's ... so the amounts make a difference

1 lb chopped meat
flavoured bread crumbs
1 egg
black pepper & garlic powder

make ballies and cook in a bit of olive oil & sliced onions in a fry pan till nicely browned

add sauce & simmer for a long time

3/4 of 15 oz can tomatoe sauce
3 cloves garlic crushed
here's the tricky part
some duck sauce
some soy sauce
some red wine vinegar
some brown sugar

if I knew the amounts my second attempt would be just as yummy

underthestars

Wed, Oct 24 2012, 4:40 am

If it helps anyone out there, I have an easy schmeezy and VERY tasty sweet & sour meatballs recipe that my kids (older and younger) love!

Sauce:

equal amounts of tomato sauce and jellied cranberry sauce (for about 1-2 kilos of meat, I usually use 2 15 oz cans of each, and I freeze any leftover sauce afterwards to use again)

That's it!! Heat up in a pot the equal amounts of sauce until cranberry sauce melts (stir every once in a while), add meatballs, and cook on low, covered, for a couple of hours.

I usually serve a side dish of rice as well.

Please let me know if any of you had the opportunity to try this> I would be so happy to hear if you liked it or not.

canadamom

Wed, Oct 24 2012, 8:31 am

rews wrote:

this brings back yummy memories! my mother used to make this recipe all the time, I love it! however my husband really doesn't like his meat sweet, so I just sautee an onion, add tomato sauce and meat...

CatLady

Wed, Oct 24 2012, 9:06 am

I used to make the cranberry/tomato sauce meatballs, but I also found them too sweet. I should try it again some time.

My current go-to recipe for meatball sauce is 1/2 cup of salsa, 1/2 cup of ketchup and 1 can of cola. It's a winner, and super-easy.

de_goldy

Wed, Oct 24 2012, 9:53 am

CatLady wrote:

I used to make the cranberry/tomato sauce meatballs, but I also found them too sweet. I should try it again some time.

I made it with a ratio of 1 can tomato sauce, 1 can cranberry and 1 can water. I find it's less sweet and tastes better that way.

your recipe sounds delish though - going to try it!

fiddle

Wed, Oct 24 2012, 10:01 am

used to make the one from the purple cookbook but it was too sweet. I started making this recipe: http://fiddlinginthekitchen.bl......html and I have never made another since. I prefer ground chicken/turkey to beef so when I make it with chicken I put a slice of bread doused in water squeezed out just not to have it drip and rip it apart in the mixture. I omit the bread crumbs which dry out the chicken/turkey and I dont put onion in it. but the sauce is the same. if I have OJ I put it in , if not I do not. doesnt make it or break it.

greenfire

Wed, Oct 24 2012, 12:00 pm

my objective in trying out things from 5 different recipes was to omit the things I did not think would be tasty I.e. cranberry jelled sauce, pineapple, ketchup,

I did however realize I didn't use as much of the duck sauce as the previous night because I ran out ... and was trying to make it less sweet & I thought it would be a better balance ...

note to self: use more duck sauce

[did anybody notice ~ I never follow recipes]

greenfire

Wed, Oct 24 2012, 12:02 pm

rews wrote:

you didn't use any spices ...

greenfire

Wed, Oct 24 2012, 12:03 pm

also I noticed a lot of recipes say put the raw meatballs into the sauce and cook ... I prefer cooked meatballs & then add the sauce to simmer

CatLady

Wed, Oct 24 2012, 12:15 pm

Me too. My technique of choice is to bake the meatballs which is a lot faster and less messy than using a skillet on the stove. The meatballs get a nice crust and they don't disintegrate in the pot during the simmering process.

calaflower

Wed, Oct 24 2012, 12:24 pm

I've been using same recipe as rews, however it's with equal jars chili sauce to cranberry sauce, and I add in lots of garlic cloves (the crushed frozen kind)
Everyone LOVES it!!!!!!! Kids, adults....
You can even use whole berry cranberry sauce fir those who like. If you use jellied, no one knows it's made from cranberries (great for kids)
Only annoying part is you need to cook h the meatballs seperately, and then add sauce and bake. Totally worth it

greenfire

Wed, Oct 24 2012, 12:27 pm

CatLady wrote:

that is where the breadcrumbs & eggs come in to help bind as well as some oil in the pan and shake shake shake Nervous

the pan for them to keep rolling rolling rolling Rolling Laughter

... the browning also leaves a nice flavour that is incorporated into the sauce

yo'ma

Wed, Oct 24 2012, 12:41 pm

greenfire wrote:

rews wrote:

you didn't use any spices ...

This recipe doesn't need any spices.

yo'ma

Wed, Oct 24 2012, 12:42 pm

CatLady wrote:

If you put the meatballs in a sauce that's hot, it doesn't disintegrate.

YW123

Wed, Oct 24 2012, 12:50 pm

tip I just learned: after spicing the meatball mixture (not the sauce) add a cup or cup and a half of applesauce and combine. then add the balls to the heated sauce. it makes the meatballs come out so so soft and it also gives you more meat per portion.