Baked Mexican Meatballs with sauce
Delicious Party Meatballs
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Servings: 16 meatballs
Calories: 104kcal
Ingredients
MEATBALLS
- 2 slices soft white sandwich bread roughly torn into smaller pieces
- ¼ cup whole milk
- 1 egg yolk
- 250 grams ground pork
- ¼ cup mint finely chopped
- 1 garlic clove minced
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- 250 grams ground beef
SAUCE
- 1 pound fresh tomatoes cut in half and stem removed
- ¼ onion, chopped
- 1 garlic clove, chopped
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ¼ teaspoon dried cumin
- 1 chile chipotle in adobo sauce
- ¼ cup water
- ½ teaspoon sugar brown or white
- ⅛ cup vinegar white or apple cider
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- cilantro, roughly chopped up optional
SAVE THIS RECIPE!
Instructions
- Prepare the Oven: Place oven rack in the upper middle position. Heat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Prepare the Meatballs: To a food processor add in the bread, milk, and egg yolk and process until smooth.
- In a large bowl, mix the ground pork, mint, garlic, salt, cumin, oregano, and the bread mixture until well incorporated.
- Gently mix in the ground beef until just combined.
- Using a 1-tablespoon measuring spoon, form the mixture into meatballs. Place them on a rimmed baking sheet. Make sure to leave some space between each meatball.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes, rotating the sheets halfway through, until the meatballs are cooked through and slightly browned.
- Prepare the Sauce: While the meatballs are cooking, to a blender, add in the tomatoes, onion, garlic, oregano, cumin, chile chipotle, water, sugar, vinegar, and salt. Process until smooth.
- To a 12 inch pan over medium-high heat, add in the oil and wait until warm. Add the blended sauce to the pan, bring it to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 10-12 minutes until thickened. Adjust salt to taste if necessary.
- Combine Meatballs and Sauce: Once the meatballs are cooked, add them to the pan with the sauce. Cook for an additional 2 minutes to ensure the meatballs are coated and heated through.
- Serve: Transfer the meatballs with the sauce to a serving platter. Sprinkle with chopped cilantro.Use toothpicks to skewer the meatballs for easy serving.
Notes
What can go wrong and how to fix it?
- Meatballs Fall Apart:
- Cause: The meat mixture might be too wet or not mixed enough.
- Fix: Ensure the bread and milk mixture is well-processed and fully incorporated into the meat. Add a bit more bread torn into small pieces if the mixture seems too wet, and handle the mixture gently but thoroughly.
- Cause: Over-mixing the meat or using lean ground meats can lead to dry meatballs.
- Fix: Mix the ingredients until just combined and use ground meats with a higher fat content.
- Cause: Oven temperature might be too low, or meatballs are too large.
- Fix: Ensure the oven is preheated to the correct temperature (450°F). Use a meat thermometer to check that the internal temperature of the meatballs reaches 160°F. If they are large, consider baking them longer or making smaller meatballs.
- Cause: The sauce hasn’t simmered long enough to thicken.
- Fix: Continue to simmer the sauce on medium-low heat until it reaches the desired consistency. If needed, mix a teaspoon of cornstarch with a tablespoon of water and add to the sauce, cooking until thickened.
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- Cause: The sauce has reduced too much during simmering.
- Fix: Add a small amount of water, chicken broth, or tomato sauce to thin it out to your desired consistency. Stir well and simmer for a few minutes to blend the flavors.
Nutrition
Serving: 1g | Calories: 104kcal | Carbohydrates: 4g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 35mg | Sodium: 329mg | Potassium: 176mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 293IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 26mg | Iron: 1mg