In case you haven’t noticed, I’ve been pretty much grilling everything I can get my hands on lately. I’m pretty much inches away from trying to bake a cake or a pie (or both) on the Kamado. Truly .. I don’t kid.
But in the meanwhile, there are still foods that it’s “normal” to grill – or at least mostly normal. And after the way the grill enhanced my standard go-to meatball recipe, I have to say that it’s going to be hard to have them any other way again.
These are the meatballs I make all the time. They’re moist, tasty, and can be customized to any cuisine. Want something Tex-Mex? Add cumin and chili powder. Want Italian? Add basil and oregano. Want something really spicy? Berebere and paprika or ancho chilies? Want to go all New Mexico or Colorado style? Mix in a can of diced green chile. Seriously, the options are endless.
This time I kept them plain and basic, but instead of pan frying them or baking them and then cooking them in sauce, I grilled them – and boy were they good.
Started with my favorite basic meatball recipe: ground beef, breadcrumbs, ricotta cheese, eggs, onion, toated onion flakes, worcestershire sauce. Rolled out 20 meatballs (2.5 oz each).
Brought the grill up to 400 and put ‘em on.
Kicked back with my book and a vodka tonic with lime.
After about 6-7 mins, rolled them and added the pan with the asparagus.
Had company to enjoy the evening on the patio:
6 more mins and off the grill, basted with a little A-1 sauce. (Sometimes I use BBQ sauce, sometimes i drop them in tomato sauce, today was A1)
Served with leftover veggies from the chicken roast and the asparagus:
After they came off the grill, I basted them with a little A-1 and served them up with leftover roasted veggies and some asparagus. It’s a good thing I made lots, because leftover the next day, these were also awesome.
Here’s the basic recipe; have fun with it and adapt it to your liking:
- 2 lbs ground beef (I use 85% lean)
- 1 cup breadcrumbs
- 1 cup ricotta cheese (I make my own)
- 2 eggs
- 1 medium onion diced fine
- 1/4 cup of toasted onion bits (I get mine from Penzey’s)
- 2-3 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce.
You can add up to 3 tbsp of various spices as you want. Sometimes I add some oregano, some chili pepper flakes, some parsley, some cilantro and cumin .. just depends on what cuisine you’re going for.
Mix it all together well and form into 20 meatballs. Each meatball will be about 2.5 oz. (I’m anal – I weigh mine on a food scale as I make them to make sure they’re all pretty even).
Cook on the grill at 400°-425°. 6 -7 mins or so per side. Don’t be afraid to take one off after 10 mins and test it. (If you’re baking in the oven, 12-15 mins at 400 will do it, just give them a shake about halfway through.)
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