Filipino Style Chicken Skewers
May 12, 2022
Rotisserie Style Lamb and Potatoes
May 27, 2022Smoked Meatballs
For me, meatballs are an amazing example of using simple ingredients and cooking them just right, to get that flavor punch you are looking for. This recipe also includes pasta sauce from scratch. It’s a lot of work but does much a huge difference in the flavor. If you prefer, you can absolutely use canned tomatoes.
What you will need
- 3 large shallots, finely diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 T fresh parsley, diced
- 1 T fresh Basil, diced
- 1 pound pork sausage
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 cup bread crumbs
- Salt and pepper
- 28 oz crushed tomato (I used a combo of heirloom, Roma and sweet cherry tomatoes
- Half cup fresh basil, chopped
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 T white sugar
Meatballs:
Pasta sauce
Method
1. For the meatballs, mix all ingredients together until we’ll incorporated.
2. Roll into balls, about 2/3 the size of a tennis ball or smaller, depending on your preference.
3. Preheat your smoker to 250F and place meatballs on, until they hit an internal temp of 160F.
4. For the Tomatoes, start by washing and scoring tomatoes on the bottom side.
5. Next, blanch tomatoes in boiling water, in batches, for about 2 minutes. Remove and immediately dunk in ice water. Blanching is going to help get the skin to
release but isn’t intended to cook the tomatoes.
6. Quarter each tomato and remove seeds, keeping the flesh. Lightly crush the tomatoes and place in your Dutch oven.
7. Into the Dutch oven, add remaining ingredients and place onto your smoker or into the oven at 250F.
8. Cook the sauce for 2-3 hours, stirring regularly. This will allow all of the flavors to get to know each other and for the tomatoes to break down into a chunky sauce. If you need to, add some water to keep it from getting too thick.
9. Once sauce is the consistency you like, add in your meatballs and cook for an additional 30 minutes.
10. Serve over pasta or in a meatball sub, with a healthy dose of freshly grated parmesan cheese.
