Fatboy's Recipes
fatboy's menu five

I came across this recipe for Chipotle Meatballs recently in the New York Times and it sounded so good I gave it a whirl. The verdict? Excellent! While I understand having excellent meatballs in New York, I'm still not making the chipotle connection.
Chipolte Meatballs
Chipolte Meatballs Chipotle chiles are jalapeño peppers that have been smoked and dried. They are often served in an adobo sauce made with chiles, garlic, vinegar, onions and tomatoes. Particularly good served with plain rice or tortillas. Quite spicy, best accompanied by something cool - sour cream, salad.
Ingredients
  • 3 slices bacon in 1-inch pieces
  • 3 garlic cloves, peeled
  • 2 large eggs
  • ½ cup bread crumbs
  • Salt
  • 1 ¼ pounds ground pork
  • ½ cup (loosely packed) coarsely chopped mint leaves, more for garnish
  • 1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes (preferably fire-roasted), drained of all but ¼ cup juice
  • 1 or 2 canned chipotle chilies in adobo, stemmed, seeded and sauce reserved
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • About 1½ cups beef or chicken broth
Cooking Instructions
  • Heat oven to 450 degrees. In a food processor, combine bacon and 1 garlic clove. Process until finely chopped. Add eggs, bread crumbs and 1 teaspoon salt. Pulse several times to combine thoroughly, then add pork and mint. Pulse a few more times until well combined but not a paste. Remove meat from processor.
  • With wet hands, form meat into about 16 plum-size balls and space them out in a 13-by-9-inch baking dish. Bake until lightly browned, about 15 minutes.
  • While meatballs bake, combine tomatoes, ¼ cup tomato juice, chipotles, 1 to 2 tablespoons chipotle sauce, oregano, remaining garlic cloves (cut in half) and ½ teaspoon salt in a blender or food processor. Process to a smooth purée.
  • When meatballs are ready, spoon off rendered fat from baking dish, then pour tomato mixture on top, covering meatballs evenly. Bake until sauce has thickened somewhat, 15 to 20 minutes.
  • Heat broth in a small saucepan. Divide meatballs among four dinner plates, leaving sauce behind. Stir enough broth into sauce to give it a spoon-able (heck yes that's a word) consistency. Taste and season with salt, if necessary. Spoon sauce over meatballs, decorate with extra mint leaves, if you wish, and serve.
Comments Serves four (4). Excellent with some peach mango iced-tea.
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