Dutch Oven Meatballs
Discover the secret to perfectly tender Dutch oven meatballs cooked on the stove in a tasty Panamanian-style tomato sofrito sauce.
Servings: 4 servings
Calories: 453kcal
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1/2 onion grated
- ½ cup panko breadcrumbs
- ¼ cup recao verde see notes on how to make it
- 2 cloves garlic grated
- 1 egg
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 1 Tablespoon oil
Sauce
- ½ onion chopped
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- ½ red bell pepper chopped
- 2 culantro leaves chopped
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 cup tomato puree
- 3/4 cup chicken broth
- 1 Tablespoon oil
Equipment
- Spoon
- knife
- ⅛ cup measuring cup or cookie scoop
Instructions
- Add all the meatballs ingredients, ground beef, onion, recao verde, garlic, panko breadcrumbs, salt, and egg, in a glass mixing bowl.
- Mix the ingredients with your hands until combined. Be gentle, and don't overwork the meat. Form the meatballs using a cookie scoop or ⅛ cup measuring cup for perfect golf-size meatballs. Place them on a lined parchment paper baking sheet. You'll get about 20 meatballs.
- Heat the Dutch oven on medium. Test if it's hot enough by sprinkling water. If bubbles form, it is ready. Add the tablespoon of oil and brown the meatballs in batches. Brown about 10 at a time. Once the first batch is done, repeat with the remaining. Remove when seared entirely and set aside on a plate.
- Once all the meatballs are seared, add the 1 Tablespoon of the oil in the same Dutch oven and lightly fry the sofrito onion, red bell pepper, garlic, and half culantro leaves until the garlic is fragrant for about 3 minutes.
- Add the tomato sauce and the Worcestershire sauce and mix all the ingredients. Let it simmer for 2 minutes.
- Add the meatballs and the chicken stock, gently mix, cover, lower the heat, and let it simmer until cooked for about 20 minutes. Stir the meatballs every so often to prevent them sticking of the sauce.
- Once the time is up, garnish with remaining culantro leaves, serve over white rice or spaghetti, and enjoy!
Notes
- Seasoning the meatballs with fresh ingredients helps with the texture and moisture so they don't dry out and get a juicy result.
- Ensure the Dutch oven is hot before adding the oil. This will prevent the meatballs from sticking to the bottom when browning.
- Searing the meatballs, develops flavors, do it in batches, and don't overcrowd the pan so the temperature doesn't drop.
- You can double the recipe, preferably max 3 pounds at a time, so you don't overwork the meat. No one likes tough meatballs.
- Pork and beef is a great combo, but if you prefer, you can use only one or the other or change proportions to ensure you have about 1 pound.
- Your meatballs are done when the internal temperature reads 165ºF on an instant-read thermometer.
Nutrition
Calories: 453kcal | Carbohydrates: 19g | Protein: 24g | Fat: 31g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 16g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 122mg | Sodium: 806mg | Potassium: 744mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 931IU | Vitamin C: 30mg | Calcium: 71mg | Iron: 4mg
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