BBQ Meatballs

This round of the recipe swap was another SRC-style swap, where we were assigned someone’s blog, and could choose any recipe we wanted from it, instead of being assigned a specific recipe. These swaps, just like the Secret Recipe Club it was themed after, are very popular and I was so happy to receive  Christina’s blog, Tales from the Mad Men Kitchen. Her tag line states that she is cooking for a modern family in a 1964 kitchen, and the picture is all too fitting. But her recipes are modern and delicious!

I had some ground meat in the freezer that I wanted to use, so I went out in search of a good recipe to use it up. Christina has several meatball recipes, but when I saw this one for BBQ Meatballs, I knew it would be perfect! When I actually got into the kitchen to make them, I ran across something horrific…this ketchup-obsessed girl was out.of.ketchup!! Holy crap. Fortunately I have a computer and I had tomato paste and I was able to make my own from scratch. Go me! I’ll include the recipe for that at the bottom of the post, just in case you’re interested 🙂 I served the meatballs over white rice instead of mashed potatoes, but I think they would be even better with mashed potatoes!

BBQ Meatballs
As seen on Tales from the Mad Men Kitchen, Originally from The Pioneer Woman

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lbs ground sirloin
• 3/4 cup oats
• 1 cup milk
• 3 Tbsp minced onion
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp pepper
• Flour for dredging
• 2 Tbsp canola oil

Sauce

• 1 cup ketchup
• 2 Tbsp sugar
• 3 Tbsp white vinegar
• 2 Tbsp Worcestershire
• 4 Tbsp minced onion

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Combine beef, oats, milk, onion, salt and pepper in a medium bowl. Using a medium cookie scoop, place meatballs on a cookie sheet. Put cookie sheet in freezer for 5 minutes then remove and dredge each meatball in flour.
3. Heat oil in a skillet over medium-high heat, and cook meatballs until browned on each side. Place them into a baking dish.
4. Combine all sauce ingredients in another bowl and pour over the top of the meatballs in the baking dish. Cook in oven for 45  minutes.

Ketchup from Tomato Paste
Source: ehow.com

Ingredients

• 6-ounce can tomato paste
• 1 cup water
• Medium saucepan
• Wooden spoon or whisk
• 1/3 cup white sugar (plus more to taste)
• 2 tbsp. molasses
• Apple cider vinegar
• Measuring cups
• 2 garlic cloves, minced or 1 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• Dried herbs and spices such as cinnamon, allspice, dried oregano, paprika

1. Combine the tomato paste and water in a saucepan over low heat. Stir or whisk the paste into the water until it’s broken up and blended in. There shouldn’t be any chunks of paste.
2. Add the sugar and molasses to the tomato paste water. Stir to dissolve the sugar. You can use less sugar or more as you’d like. Taste the mixture before adding more.
3. Pour in the apple cider vinegar, one tablepoon at a time, until the mixture has the tanginess you like.
4. Add the garlic, salt and 1/4 teaspoon each of the spices of your choice.
5. Raise the heat to medium and bring the mixture to a simmer. Let it cook, simmering, for about an hour. Stir every so often to prevent burning and to incorporate the ingredients. After about an hour, the mixture should be thick like ketchup.
6. Taste the ketchup and add more vinegar, salt or sugar as needed. Let it cool, then use as you normally would.