So, after years and years of making these, for my family, and to take to many many potlucks, I am finally going to make an attempt to write down a recipe. People have been asking me for this for a very long time, and I have always told them, I just throw it all together and let the chips fall where they will. The sauce is delicious with the meatballs, but is equally tasty with chicken or pork as well, and I often make extra, and save it in the fridge, in a jar. It stores pretty well for a couple of weeks. Let’s hope this works out, because I have been holding this one as a very well kept secret! Hope you and your family enjoy it as much as mine….the next one to jump out of the bag MIGHT be my lasagne, but no promises there!
Preheat oven to 400….well, I just turn it on while I am mixing the meat, and when the balls are ready, they go in!
Meatballs
2 lbs ground beef (I use lean when it’s for family but if I am making a huge batch to take somewhere, I use regular and drain them really well…shhh)
1 large egg
1/2 cup finely crushed cracker crumbs (I throw a bunch in a plastic sandwich bag, and just crush them with my hand)
2 tsp garlic powder or a big teaspoon of finely chopped garlic
2 tablespoons soya sauce
Mix the ingredients together and form into uniform sized balls. As I hate getting my hands dirty, this is by far my least favourite part of the entire thing! Funny little note here, I always have to count how many meatballs I make, because, even as adults, my kids STILL, figure out how many each person COULD potentially have!
Cook for approximnately 30-35 minutes, uncovered. Adjust the time to the size of your balls!
Sauce
I usually make the sauce in a saucepan large enough to throw all the meatballs right into it, when they come out of the oven. This sauce is easily doubled, quadrupled or halfed, as needed, and if I am making extra, I just ladle some into a jar before I add the meatballs.
Bring 3 cups of water to a boil, then add
1 cup brown sugar, stir till it returns to the boil, then add
4 tablespoons soya sauce
8 tablespoons white vinegar
In a small bowl or cup, mix 4 tablespoons cornstarch with equal amount of cold water.
Stir while you add this to the pot. It will thicken rather rapidly, and if, for some reason it isn’t as thick as you would like, you can easily add an additional tablespoon of cornstarch and water mixed seperately again.
Finally, remove from the heat and add approximately 3/4 cup of ketchup. This is what I have always called my “secret ingredient” and I have always just added one really big SQUIRT from the bottle, so measuring MY big squirt wouldn’t be the same as anyone else’s! I usually add, then taste and see if I think it needs any more.
Scoop the meat balls out of the pan with a slotted spoon, and throw them in the sauce. Serve over whatever rice you got going on!
Hope you give it a go, and let me know. Maybe it will become one of your family favourites too.
Hi, I'm Cindy Samuel and I proofread books.