Korean Meatballs

Right now, the two main proteins in the freezer are chicken and ground beef. In my quest to find something new and different to make with the ingredients on hand, I headed off to the NY Times cooking site for inspiration.

One recipe that caught my eye was Korean Barbecue-Style Meatballs. I have no idea why these would be considered Korean, but, they came out damned good – and we had all the basics in the house!

Korean Meatballs

They don’t use a binder – no egg – and use Ritz Crackers. I had the Trader Joe version and it worked great.

Korean BBQ-Style Meatballs

adapted from NY Times

  • 1/2 cup chopped scallions
  • 2 tbsp soy sauce
  • 2 tablespoons minced garlic
  • 1/2 tsp salt – or to taste
  • 1 tsp black pepper
  • 1/2 cup finely crushed Ritz crackers (12 crackers)
  • 1 lb ground beef
  • 1 tbsp sambal oelek

Heat oven to 425. In a large bowl, combine all of the ingredients and use your hands to gently mix.

Shape the meat into 12 golf-ball-size rounds and arrange on a greased rimmed baking sheet.

Bake until golden and cooked through, about 15 minutes. Serve warm.

Lots of spicy garlic flavor. I can see a lot of variations on this theme as ingredients change in the pantry.

A definite winner.