Monday, January 21, 2008

Ukrainian Style Sweet & Sour Meatballs





I've been making this recipe for what feels like forever. For appetizers I make smaller meatballs than for main course. It's just one of those recipes that's totally impossible to mess up. It's also a fantastic make-ahead when you know there's a party coming. I'll often make a HUGE batch of them and freeze them in different size containers (i.e. one party size, several family size and several individual portion sizes). On party day, I just take them out of the freezer, throw them into the slow cooker, turn on low for 8 hours and when it's time for the party, they're ready.

Sauce:
1 cup water
1 cup ketchup
1 tsp. salt
1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup vinegar
1/2 cup brown sugar
few grains cayenne powder
few grains garlic powder
1 tbsp. cornstarch

Meatballs:
1 1/2 lb. ground beef or ground turkey
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1 egg
1/4 cup milk
salt & pepper to taste

Combine water, ketchup, salt, Worcestershire sauce, vinegar, sugar, cayenne, cornstarch and garlic powder in top of double boiler; heat to boiling and cook until well blended.
Combine ground beef or turkey, bread crumbs, egg, milk, salt and pepper and shape into meatballs. Fry or bake in 400 F oven for 10-15 minutes. Put meatballs and sauce into a baking dish and bake in 350 F oven for 30 minutes.
Serve with rice and a salad or vegetable of your choice. I used brown rice as a side and loved the crunchiness of it. StumbleUpon

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I have a similar meatball recipe ("Chinese" Meatballs, but pretty much the same basic ingredients and method with a few variations) my mom always served for large parties. Last April my sister and I did a party for their 50th anniversary and served them-- they were a huge hit!

Yours look terrific.

giz said...

Thanks Ann - too bad I don't know which end of the camera to hold on to :)

Jerri at Simply Sweet Home said...

great looking meatballs. i don't believe i've ever had any like these.

LinkWithin Related Stories Widget for Blogs
Share/Bookmark