Hawaiian Meatballs

Hawaiian cocktail meatballs

I'm not really sure if these are actually Hawaiian, but is seemed a fitting name after I considered all the ingredients I added when I was experimenting around down the rabbit hole. I got it in my head that mincing some dried pineapple into a meatball mix could be interesting, and that lead to all sorts of pacific inspired spices.

So..... with some ground beef, minced onion and garlic, chopped up dried pineapple, chili crisp, and some brown sugar, Hawaiian meatballs are born. After I made and cooked the meatballs, I removed them from the skillet with a slotted spoon so that I could use the drippings to make a sauce. since I was experimenting, I made dinner sized meatball as well as cocktail size.

With every experiment we learn something, and this time was no different. I learned that the cocktail sized meatballs needed to a different ratio of ingredients like bread and egg to hold them together. The larger ones were great, but the small ones, kept warm in a crockpot, were falling apart as folks were trying to serve themselves. That could also be in part because I served them in the sauce rather than setting the sauce on the side for dipping. (The leftovers of the little ones got repurposed into stuffed cabbages).

THE RECIPE: For the meatballs

1 lb. ground beef

1/2 C brown sugar

1/3 C chili crisp

3/4 C minced onion

3/4 C finely chopped candied fried pineapple

2 - cloves garlic minced

1 large egg (if planning on cocktail sized I would use 2 eggs)

1 C bread crumbs (maybe an additional 1/2C is making cocktail sized)

Oil to coat the skillet for frying (I like some sesame and olive oil mixed 1/2 each)

Combine all until completely blended

Form into balls

Cook in a skillet on low heat covered

Turn a couple of times to brown on all sides

Remove the meatballs with a slotted spoon or tongs reserving the drippings for making gravy

For the gravy

2 - 3T flour of corn starch (about equal volume to the pan drippings)

1T sriracha

1/4C dark molasses

2t ground ginger

1C Korean BBQ sauce

Transfer the pan drippings and any meatball bits to a saucepan and heat

Sprinkle in the flour or corn starch and whist until it thickens and turns golden.

Whisk in the sriracha, molasses, and ginger to completely blend and eliminate any lumps.

Stir in the BBQ sauce and simmer to thicken a bit more.

If serving large meatballs, spoon the gravy on top. If serving cocktail meatballs, you can serve the sauce on the side for dipping. Or of you add extra egg to stiffen the meat mix, you can serve the cocktail meatballs in the sauce.