My meatball recipe, which was influenced by Chef John’s Mongolian Pork Chops, is superb. A fantastic party recipe. With toothpicks as an appetizer, serve them up, and watch them vanish. They can prepare a meal that is served over spaghetti or between two slices of bread.
| Prep Time: | 30 mins |
| Cook Time: | 2 hrs 35 mins |
| Total Time: | 3 hrs 5 mins |
| Servings: | 12 |
| Yield: | 12 servings |
Ingredients
- ½ cup hoisin sauce
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1 ½ tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
- 2 teaspoons white sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons hot sauce
- ½ teaspoon ground white pepper
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 pound ground beef
- ½ pound ground lamb
- ½ head cabbage, chopped
- 1 yellow onion, chopped
- ½ cup panko bread crumbs
- ½ cup grated carrot
- 1 tablespoon ground ginger
- ¼ cup chopped green onion
- 6 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 teaspoon garlic salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C).
- Whisk hoisin sauce, 4 cloves garlic, red wine vinegar, soy sauce, grated ginger, rice vinegar, sesame oil, sugar, hot sauce, white pepper, and black pepper together in a large bowl.
- Mix ground beef, ground lamb, cabbage, yellow onion, panko, carrot, ground ginger, green onion, 6 cloves chopped garlic, garlic salt, black pepper, and 2 tablespoons of the hoisin sauce mixture together in a separate bowl; shape into meatballs and arrange on a jelly roll pan.
- Bake in preheated oven until no longer pink in the middle, about 25 minutes. Shake pan to turn meatballs, switch oven to Broil, and cook under the broiler until browned, about 10 minutes more. Set aside to cool.
- Transfer warm meatballs to slow cooker and pour hoisin sauce mixture over the meatballs.
- Cook on Low, stirring intermittently, for 2 to 4 hours.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 181 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 16 g |
| Cholesterol | 37 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 2 g |
| Protein | 12 g |
| Saturated Fat | 3 g |
| Sodium | 519 mg |
| Sugars | 6 g |
| Fat | 9 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
These were really good, BUT: 1) The cooking time is way too long. By the time they were finished baking at 450 for 25 minutes, they were more than done. They’re going into a slow cooker for 2-4 hours so baking at 450 then broiling is overkill. 2) Absolutely double the sauce. As-is, this recipe doesn’t make enough. Changes I made due to personal preference: I only used ground beef. I deactivated the ginger and only added 2 tsp because ginger tastes like Listerine to me. I used low-sodium Tamari because I try to be GF and I find regular soy sauce/Tamari to be too salty. I only added closer to 1 TBSP because other reviewers said they were too salty. I didn’t have garlic salt so I added 1/2 tsp garlic powder. For hot sauce, I used Sriracha.
I was looking for something with ground beef and cabbage that was not some version of cabbage rolls. Great recipe. I ground in my food processor, the onions, Garlic and cabbage to just slightly larger than a dice. I made 1/2 but could have used a whole batch of? sauce. I did not have any ground pork and used all beef. Also left out green onions as I had none. A great way to add veggies in disguise!
Just the right amount of spicy. I baked in the oven at 350 for 15 minutes, turning once and never mixed into the sauce. I drizzled the sauce over the whole meal. Per other reviews, I reduced the soy sauce in the sauce. Served over cauliflower rice and stir fry veggies.
Very tasty! Served with rice and garlic bok choy. Left out the cabbage and hot sauce. Didn’t use lamb – used ground pork instead. I doubled the sauce the second time I made it because the first time there wasn’t enough. I didn’t broil it – only baked for 25 minutes. I kept it in the slow cooker for about an hour before serving.
All beef. No cabbage or green onion. Followed recipe exactly but made the sauce on the stove.
I used ground turkey and didn’t add sugar, and it was still delicious. They are scrumptious even without the sauce. The serving suggestion in the photo would be perfect. I ran out of hoisin sauce so replaced the last bit with water and honey. Hoisin has a lot of salt already, so if you’re using the sauce in the recipe, I don’t think I’d bother adding salt to the meatballs. It makes it really salty. Or maybe cut back on the soy sauce.
I was skeptical because the recipe didn’t call for eggs and I was afraid the meatballs would fall apart, but they didn’t.