MMMeatballs II

This is a continuation of the original recipe thread, which was getting pretty long. There's a lot of fun comments and good tips over there, though, so check out http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/681174/. It's cool to see how this recipe is spreading across the country... it even caused a run on Heinz chili sauce locally over the winter holidays (clerk to Dea's DH "Oh, are you making those meatballs!? Sorry, we're out.")

I'll repost the first post in the original thread:

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This recipe came to me from "Mick & Maxine," neighbors of a friend who grew up south of Chicago. Since nobody in Pittsburgh (my hometown) knew them, we started calling them "M&M Meatballs" rather than "Mick & Maxine's Meatballs," but that was confusing, as some people thought there might be chocolate candies involved in the recipe. Since they're so yummy, we've taken to referring to them as mmmmmmmmMeatballs!

So, here's a different and incredibly tasty recipe for MMMeatballs! It's easy to make, too... no need to brown the meatballs before baking. These are great party food, but we've also made them and served them over rice for dinner.

MMMeatballs

Meatballs: Mix and form into 1 inch balls
2 pounds lean* ground beef (see note below)
3 eggs
1 package (Lipton) onion soup mix
1 cup bread crumbs

Sauce: Stir together in saucepan over medium heat until well combined.
1 can (16 oz) whole-berry cranberry sauce
1 small (14 oz) can sauerkraut, drained
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 jar (12 oz) chili sauce (Heinz)
12 oz. water (measure using chili sauce bottle)

Place formed balls into a 9 x 13" dish in a single layer. Pour sauce over meatballs. Cook at 350'F for 1 hour (325' if using glass pan).

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I'll add just a couple of suggestions... First, do not leave out the sauerkraut! Many avowed sauerkraut haters have tried and loved these meatballs. This is such an odd combination of ingredients that it seems to need everything just as written in order to work out best. I usually play with recipes, but I've learned not to mess with this one. I've been amazed at how many people have tried this recipe and reported back to the thread... what fun!

After cooking, these meatballs freeze very well (sauce and all). I haven't been as happy with the results when I've formed and frozen the uncooked meatballs ahead of time, although some folks on the previous thread reported success with that... Do what you can, but if you have time to cook them before freezing, that's what I'd do. We double or triple the batch and freeze smaller packets to have on hand.

* The ground beef does need to be 90-plus % lean, since you aren't cooking out any of the fat before putting the meatballs into the pan. We've been using 93-96% lean ground round, which is extra tasty.


This message was edited Feb 25, 2008 2:01 AM