West Indies Style Meatballs Recipes

WAIKIKI-STYLE MEATBALLS

Steps:

• Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Thoroughly mix the ground beef, bread crumbs, onion, milk, egg, and salt together in a bowl. Roll the mixture into balls and arrange onto a baking sheet.
• Bake in the preheated oven until the meatballs are browned on the bottom, about 25 minutes. Transfer to a slow cooker.
• Stir the cornstarch and brown sugar together in the bottom of a saucepan and place over low heat. Add the reserved pineapple juice and vinegar; stir until smooth. Bring the mixture to a boil for 1 full minute before removing from heat; pour over the meatballs in the slow cooker.
• Add the pineapple chunks and green bell pepper to the slow cooker.
• Cook the mixture in the slow cooker on Low until the flavors are thoroughly combined, 3 to 4 hours.

ALMOST-FAMOUS SWEDISH MEATBALLS

Steps:

• Make the meatballs: Put the breadcrumbs in a large bowl. Heat the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, allspice, 2 teaspoons salt and 1/4 teaspoon white pepper and cook, stirring, until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the milk and Worcestershire sauce and bring to a simmer. Pour the milk mixture over the breadcrumbs and stir to make a thick paste; let cool. Add the beef, pork, egg and egg white to the bowl and mix until combined.
• Brush a baking sheet with vegetable oil. Roll the meat into 1-inch balls and arrange on the prepared baking sheet. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 1 hour.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Bake the meatballs until cooked through, about 20 minutes.
• Make the gravy: Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the flour and cook, whisking, until smooth. Whisk in the beef broth and Worcestershire sauce and bring to a simmer. Add the cream and meatballs. Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer until the gravy thickens, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and black pepper. Transfer to a serving dish; sprinkle with the parsley and serve with lingonberry jam, if desired.

HAWAIIAN-STYLE MEATBALLS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
• Mix together ground beef, chestnuts, soy sauce, brown sugar, onion powder, and garlic powder thoroughly in a large bowl. Form the mixture into 2 tablespoon-sized balls, and place onto a baking sheet.
• Bake in preheated oven until no longer pink in the center, about 15 minutes. Stir together the apricot preserves and the cider vinegar, toss with meatballs in a clean bowl, then return to baking sheet, and bake for an additional 5 minutes.

NORWEGIAN MEATBALLS (VIKING SOUL FOOD STYLE)

Steps:

• For the Norwegian meatballs: Small dice the yellow onions, or grate on a cheese grater on the largest holes. Warning: The cheese grater method is effective, but you'll likely have a tearful experience!
• Combine butter, 1 teaspoon salt and the grated onions in a small pot. Cook on medium-low until onions are browned and smelling sweet, about 1 hour. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
• Chop up rye bread by hand or in a food processor until crumbly, but don't obliterate it. Add heavy cream, whole milk, and rye breadcrumbs to a pot. Heat gently on low until breadcrumbs have absorbed dairy and are softened and aromatic, then remove from the heat.
• Grind allspice berries and black peppercorns together in a spice grinder until fine.
• Combine rye breadcrumbs, eggs, flour, caramelized onions, remaining teaspoon salt and the spices in a large mixing bowl. Mix together until a smooth paste forms, then incorporate the beef and pork, squeezing with your fingers to make sure the starchy ingredients break up into the meat. At the same time, make sure not to overwork the mixture, as that would yield tough meatballs.
• Let stand at least 2 to 3 hours in the fridge, then roll into balls. We roll our meatballs to 1 1/2-ounces each, but all you need to do is make sure your meatballs are consistently-sized, so they cook at the same rate when they hit the oven.
• Preheat the oven to 550 degrees F, preferably on convection. Roast meatballs until well-browned on the outside, about 10 minutes in a convection oven or 12 minutes in a conventional oven.
• For the surkal: Thinly slice cabbage (1/4-inch thick) with a knife or mandoline. Avoid cutting into the core; you just want the purple leaves.
• Toss cabbage and salt together in a large bowl and allow to sit.
• Combine white sugar, cider vinegar, red wine vinegar, ground caraway seed, bay leaf and 3 cups water in a large pot, then bring to a boil. Pour over cabbage and cover, then refrigerate for about 1 day. This will help lessen the harshness of the vinegars and soften the cabbage.
• After 24 to 36 hours, remove bay leaf and stir cabbage mixture to make sure caraway is well-distributed.
• Refrigerate until ready to eat.
• For the Gjetost cheese sauce: Melt the butter in a pot on medium heat and brown slightly. Add the flour and whisk well. Allow the roux to brown on medium-low heat until it reaches a rich golden brown color; it should smell nutty. This takes 20 to 30 minutes.
• Add the milk gradually in increments, whisking vigorously as you go. If you happen to have an immersion blender, run it through and get rid of any lumps. Reduce heat to low and watch carefully, whisking often and making sure the bottom doesn't burn. You want to see bubbles popping up to the surface every few seconds.
• Add the Madeira, white wine, salt and nutmeg. Cook until the sauce has thickened slightly, about 40 minutes, then grate the Gjetost cheese into the pot.
• Allow the sauce to cook gently and continue to thicken for about 1 1/2 hours. Be sure to whisk the bottom occasionally to get up any browned bits. If you have one, get your immersion blender in there and run it through until smooth and velvety. When finished, sauce should be the consistency of thick gravy and taste of toasty bread and goat cheese.
• Allow to cool for a half hour or so, then place in the fridge if you aren't going to use it right away.
• For the meatball lefse wrap: Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F.
• Halve 2 of the meatballs and roast until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Toast a piece of lefse in a nonstick pan or better yet, on a lefse griddle, on both sides. Remove toasted lefse to a cutting board. Begin layering: 1/2 cup shredded green cabbage, 1/2 cup surkal/pickled cabbage, the heated meatballs and finally about 1/3 cup warm Gjetost cheese sauce. Roll it tightly like a burrito. Cut in half if you're sharing, but you probably won't want to.

WEST INDIES STYLE MEATBALLS

Steps:

• 1. Season ground beef with bread crumbs, salt, pepper & egg. Mix well & make 2 inch meatballs. Brown meatballs in oil, in a large skillet, remove meatballs & set aside.
• 2. Saute peppers, onion, & mushrooms. Add meatballs back to skillet, & add all remaining ingredients.
• 3. Cook about 30 min. until all flavors are well blended. Remove bay leaf & serve with toothpicks.

WESTERN MEATBALLS

Steps:

• MEATBALLS: Combine all ingredients, roll into 1 1/2-inch balls, place on cookie sheet and bake in 350 degree F oven for about 20 minutes or until cooked through. Transfer from cookie sheet to a casserole dish or small roaster. (Also works very well in a slow cooker.).
• SAUCE: Combine all ingredients. Boil to thicken. Pour over meatballs and bake at 325 degrees F for approximately one hour. (If using slow cooker, just pour sauce over meatballs without boiling and cook for 4-6 hours on low.).
• NOTE: Can also use moose burger, one pound ground beef and one pound ground pork, one pound moose burger and one pound ground pork -- you get the idea. Very versatile.

DUTCH EAST INDIES MEATBALLS

Steps:

• Drain the pineapple chunks, reserving 1/2 cup syrup. Set aside.
• Combine the ground round, breadcrumbs, milk, beaten egg, chopped onion, and chopped parsley. Mix well. Shape the mixture into 16 meatballs, inserting a pineapple chunk into the center of each meatball. Set any remaining pineapple chunks aside.
• Combine the butter, oil, and curry powder in a large skillet. Brown the meatballs in the butter mixture over medium heat until browned. Drain meatballs, discarding the drippings. Set aside and keep warm.
• Combine the reserved pineapple syrup, vinegar, sugar, cornstarch, and soy sauce in a saucepan; stir well. Add pineapple chunks; cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until thickened and bubbly. Serve meatballs with the sauce. (over rice as a main dish, or with toothpicks as an appetizer).