Glazed Pork “Surprise” Meatballs

Has the same old left over turkey surprise casserole every year lost its surprise?

Wondering what to do differently with that left over holiday ham, turkey, chicken, or roast beast (beef) ???

 

Our Texas 1950s family recipe for sweet and savory Pork “Surprise” Meatballs could be the simple answer you are looking for!

Cube up that left over entree, then grind it up in a food processor, mix with an equal portion of raw ground pork breakfast sausage, and just add a few other ingredients plus seasonings to make them into sweet, savory meatballs with a glaze!

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Diabetic Friendly Substitutions

For a lower sugar version, combine 3/4 to 1 cup sucralose (Spenda) with 1/4 cup brown sugar and store in an airtight container. Use as you would regular brown sugar, but with only a fourth or less of the amount of real brown sugar.

For an even lower sugar version, you can mix 1 Tablespoon of molasses per 1 cup sucralose (Splenda) and continue to pinch it between your fingers until really well blended together. This is more trouble and a sticky job to do, but it is nutritionally equivalent to the manufactured blend.

It is often much cheaper than purchasing the diabetic friendly brown sugar blend from the store to make your own. However, if money isn’t an issue then there absolutely nothing wrong with using the manufactured blend. Many stores also carry their own store brand of sucralose as well as the sucralose brown sugar blend which are cheaper than the name brand (Splenda) product.

Instead of maraschino juice, add unsweetened pure apple juice or unsweetened applesauce (which contains natural fruit pectin) to the glaze which will help to thicken it as well as reduce the added sugar. However, if you believe you will miss the cherry flavor, there are all natural cherry extracts (not artificially flavored) that you can substitute or you can simply substitute a sugar free cherry jelly, jam, or fruit topping.

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The original recipe calls for the cooked meat or poultry to be finely ground or chopped “into sawdust sized bits” usually done tiny bits at a time with a knife, meat grinder, or in a blender.   I’m just very happy to have a modern day food processor for making quick work of that task.   It is has also come to be cooked by various methods so it is no longer just a skillet dish.

 

Glazed Pork “Surprise” Meatballs

This family recipe began in Texas during the 1950s as a way to deal with practically any left over holiday meat or poultry.  (Originally only a skillet dish that through the years came to be cooked several different ways).

I actually prefer the skillet method and to save time and effort I will just have more than one skillet going at a time to cook all of the meatballs then combine them into one for the glazing.   Of all the methods this to me is the least time consuming with the least muss and fuss.  

 

Meatballs:

1 pound fully cooked left over ham, beef, or poultry, cubed then finely ground or minced
1 pound ground pork breakfast sausage
1 cup evaporated milk
1 cup crushed crushed crackers, crushed croutons, crushed unsweetened corn flakes, panko, or fine bread crumbs
1 large whole egg, lightly beaten
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon ground mustard
1/4 teaspoon ground clove, or to taste

Glaze:

1 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup Dijon or Yellow Mustard
1/8 teaspoon ground clove, or to taste
1/4 cup maraschino cherry juice
1/2 cup orange or pineapple juice

 

Combine meatball ingredients and shape into 1 inch balls.

Decide which method below you want to use to cook it.

To Saute/Pan Fry In A Skillet:

Brown pork meatballs in batches,  in a hot skillet preheated with 1/4 inch of oil, for 15 minutes turning every 3 to 4 minutes to brown on all sides.  Remove skillet from burner. Drain.  Mix glaze and add to skillet with meatballs a little at a time, gently toss to coat after each addition, and return pan to medium heat until sugar is dissolved and glaze has slightly thickened.

To Bake:

Preheat oven to 350°. Place in a single layer in greased or parchment paper lined baking pans or or on baking sheets with sides to prevent any juice run off. Bake until ham balls are just beginning to brown, 30-35 minutes, rotating pans and carefully turning meatballs over halfway through. Allow to rest on pans while making the glaze.

For glaze, cook and stir all ingredients in a small saucepan over medium heat just until sugar is dissolved and glaze has slightly thickened. Spoon over the cooked ham balls.

Place meatballs in serving dish and pour glaze over top. Gently toss in glaze. Serve warm.

 

For Crock Pot/Slow Cooker:

Spray oil the crock pot or use disposable insert.  Sear outside of meatballs on all sides in hot preheated skillet with 2 Tablespoons oil.   Mix the glaze and dip to coat the meatballs before placing in crock pot. Drizzle remaining glaze, if any, over top of the coated meatballs. Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours or on high for 4 hours. Remove meatballs with a slotted spoon and place in serving dish. Stir then ladle the desired amount of any remaining sauce and juices over top.

 

For Instant Pot/Electric Pressure Cooker:

The glaze for this recipe can caramelize and burn so should not be attempted in an electric pressure cooker. It can also spew hot molten sugar syrup when venting. Prepare the sauce in a pan or microwave and only add it to the meatballs after they have cooked.

Turn pot on “saute” and brown meatballs about 5 or 6 at a time in hot oil turning as needed to sear and brown on all sides. This prevents them from sticking together when not coated or completed covered and cooked in some sort of sauce.

Cook pork meatballs according to manufacture’s directions — usually about 13 minutes on high pressure — with about 1 to 2 cups of water or broth. When done, wait 2 minutes then manually quick vent.

For glaze, cook and stir all ingredients in a small saucepan over medium heat just until sugar is dissolved and glaze has slightly thickened. Spoon over the cooked ham balls.