Meatballs I always hoped for

I always found meatballs somewhat of a letdown. After hoping for a taste explosion from these deliciously looking morsels, my experience is that the flavor tends to be somewhat flat and plain. Maybe with an exception of Indian koftas or Swedish meatballs, and even there it seems the sauce takes most of the credit for the taste. Well, I can definitely claim a letdown for meatballs I had made - they had been in an OK-but-nothing-special category. 

Recently he store across the street has been carrying really excellent ground venison. Super lean, organic, grass fed, whet else could one ask for. I wanted to use the venison in a Thai curry, so I started to look for recipes, I found one that looked appealing, and it was definitely an inspiration for what I actually ended up doing. Basically, I ended up throwing a kitchen sink of Asian tricks at the meatball, finally getting the texture and the flavor I wanted. I can easily see replacing asian spices with other combinations, for example sage and cumin work really nicely and have a super pungent flavor I like  in my food.

That recipe also opened my eyes that one does not finish the meatballs in the sauce, which is something that was seared in my mind from how meatballs in tomato sauce were made when I was growing up. In reality, one can sear the meatballs in a pan, and then finish them in the oven. A large carbon steel roaster or paella pan surely helps here, so that one can work in one batch without overcrowding the pan:

 Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground meat. I used venison.
• 1-2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 - 1 tsp baking soda
• 1-2 tsp granulated garlic
• 4 TBS oat flakes, ground in a food processor. Bread crumbs would work, too.
• 1 TBS gochugaru (korean dried chillies, mild and sweet flavor)
• 1-2 TBS soy sauce
• 1-2 TBS fish sauce
• 1-2 TBS sesame oil
• 1 smal to medium onion, chopped finely
• a pinch of salt
• 3 garlic cloves
• 1 TBS finely chopped or grated ginger
• olive oil

Method:

1. If the meat was vacuum packed, unpack it and let it rest for 10 minutes at room temperature
2. Preheat the oven to 350F.
3. Heat some oil in a skillet at a medium-low to medium heat. Fry onions with a pinch of salt, until the onions soften and start changing color
4. Add the chopped garlic and ginger. Fry for 30 seconds. Place the mixture in a bowl and let it cool for a minute.
5. Add the rest of the ingredients to the bowl. mix all the ingredients well
6. Make 16 meatballs, or whatever size you like. Note, the cooking time may vary with the size of meatballs.
7. Optional but useful: Let sit for 10 minutes
8. In an oven-safe large pan, heat some oil at a medium heat. Brown meatballs on all sides, or at least two sides, if you have a hard time having the meatballs stand on a side. Do this in batches if needed.
9. Return all meatballs to the pan if you used several batches, and finish them in the oven for 10-12 minutes. Adjust the time if you have many more or fewer meatballs than the 16 used in this recipe.
10. The meatballs are done when cooked through. Test by cutting through a meatball and check that it is no longer pink inside.

 Notes:

• You can finish meatballs in a sauce. 
• You can cook the fully cooked meatballs some more in a sauce. 
• Pink ground meat can be hazardous for your health. Bacteria grows on the meat surface, this is why steaks are OK to cook and eat rare. In ground meat, the bacteria gets mixed into the meat, so ground meat should be cooked through.