Saucy Creole Meatballs and Grits
Along with a decadent, flavor-packed sauce, these outstanding Sauce Creole Meatballs and Grits make for one of my family’s all-time favorite dinners. The meatballs float in a buttery sea of creamy grits, and just make for one very special meal. Served with a simple, crisp green salad and this stunner can’t be beat. Read on for a few easy meatball tips or just jump ahead to the recipe itself.
- Yield: Serves 4
Ingredients
Units
Scale
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 pound ground pork
- 1 egg
- 10 Ritz crackers, finely crushed (or any cracker you like; 1/2 cup Italian breadcrumbs also works
- 2 celery stalks, leaves and stems separated, both parts chopped
- 1 medium-sized onion, diced (this doesn’t need to be an exact thing)
- 3 teaspoons Creole seasoning, divided
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- 3 garlic cloves, minced or grated
- 1 teaspoons salt
- Lots of freshly cracked black pepper
- 1 poblano pepper, roughly chopped
- 1/4 cup banana pepper rings
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 4 tablespoons flour
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 1/2 cup light-bodied beer (cook gets to drink the rest; wine or stock can be subbed)
- 1 teaspoon chicken or beef stock concentrate
- 2 cups chicken or vegetable stock
For the Grits:Â
- 1 cup instant grits
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 4 cups chicken or vegetable stock
- 1 cup sharp cheddar cheese
- Milk or half and half, as needed
- 2 ounces creamy goat cheese (optional but delicious)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Adjust the rack to the middle position. Cover a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the beef, pork, egg, cracker crumbs, chopped celery leaves, ¼ of the diced onion, 1.5 teaspoons of the Creole seasoning, Worcestershire sauce, 1 teaspoon of salt, pepper to taste, and half of the minced garlic. Gently mix together just until well combined.
- Roll into 1.5-inch meatballs, evenly spacing them on your baking sheet. You should get about 16 to 18-ish, depending on exactly how big you make them. Bake until browned and just cooked through, about 25 to 30 minutes. They’ll finish up in the sauce.
- Meanwhile, add the butter to a large, deep saucepan over medium heat. When it melts, add the flour and let it gently cook with the butter (you’re making a roux) until it resembles the color of almond butter – about 25 to 30 minutes, stirring frequently.
- While that’s happening, combine the remaining onion, poblano, banana pepper rings, chopped celery, and remaining garlic in a food processor, and process until it’s all a fine pulp.
- When your roux is almond butter-colored, add the veggie pulp to the pan, and the remaining Creole seasoning and paprika and cook for about 5 minutes. Deglaze with the beer (or stock, wine, etc.) and let that cook off for 1 minute. Add the stock concentrate and the stock and bring the whole mixture to a gentle boil over medium-high heat, and then reduce to a simmer. Taste it and adjust anything as needed. You can add water if it gets too thick or too salty, for example.
- Add the meatballs to the pan and coat in the sauce. Let it all simmer over low heat for at least 5 minutes to reduce, thicken, and concentrate. Serve over the cheesy grits, with hot sauce on the side, if you like.
For the Grits:
- Prepare the 1 cup (or 4 servings ) of instant grits according to the package instructions, but use the chicken or vegetable stock instead of water (always!). When your grits are done, add ⅔ to 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese and/or a little goat cheese to taste. I also like to ad milk or half and half to add extra creaminess, but sour cream, creme fraiche and ricotta also work beautifully. Season with salt and pepper as needed.