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Pork Meatballs in Beer BBQ Sauce

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Potato and pork meatballs braised in a sauce of BBQ sauce and dark beer, yes they are every bit as good as they sound!

Portrait image of BBQ sauce being poured over pork meatballs served in black plate on a polenta porridge

Beery BBQ Meatballs.

If you like beer, meatballs and BBQ sauce then you should hang around because I have a feeling that you might like this recipe!

Talk about cramming lots of my favourite things into a single recipe.

I even sneak in some potato to provide body to the meatballs which works exceptionally well.

Meatballs are a real family favourite, I make them all of the time in loads of different ways.

Everything from honey and mustard chicken meatballs to the faggots that I love from my yoof.

These come in a sweet and wheaty bbq sauce and are really simple to make.

You spend maybe 15 minutes in prep and then throw them into the oven for 45 minutes.

Portrait overhead image of pork meatballs in bbq sauce served on polenta in a black bowls

Choosing the Beer and BBQ Sauce.

The flavour of this dish is mainly governed by two things. The BBQ sauce and the beer you use.

I have made these meatballs a couple of dozen times playing with different flavours and ideas and they all worked really well.

You do however want to avoid paring a really sweet sauce with a really sweet beer.

Also, avoid a really bitter beer with a tart BBQ sauce because that contrast really does not work.

My favourite combination ended up being Leffe Brun which is a dark Belgian Wheat Beer. It is also one of my favourite drinks!

This was paired with the BBQ Sauce that I made for these BBQ ribs.

A Pilsner style lager gives the most simple flavour profile and a Porter or Stout the heaviest.

I’ve also tried a few store-bought BBQ sauces they work well but they do tend to be a little sweeter.

As a result, you should go for a beer in the middle of the spectrum rather than one at the extremes.

Portrait image of pork meatballs in bbq sauce served on polenta in a black bowl

Serving Suggestions.

I usually serve these meatballs on a bed of cheesy polenta at the request of my wife.

The cheese that I choose is usually a nice mature cheddar which is a great contrast to the sweetness of BBQ sauce and the dark beer.

Although if I were left to my own devices I would probably serve them with a great buttery mashed potato!

Square image of BBQ sauce being poured over pork meatballs served in black plate on a polenta porridge
Yield: 2 Servings

Pork Meatballs in a Beer BBQ Sauce Recipe

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes

A beer rich bbq sauce makes for the perfect braising liquid for these potato and pork meatballs.

Ingredients

For the Meatballs

  • 100 g (3.5 oz) Potato
  • 300 g (10.5) Ground Pork Shoulder
  • 1 Egg Yolk
  • 1/2 Tsp Dried Thyme
  • 1 Tbsp Dijon Mustard
  • Salt and Pepper to taste

For the Sauce

  • 30 g (1 oz) Butter
  • 1/2 Tbsp Plain Flour
  • 75 ml (2.5 floz) Water
  • 250 ml (8.5 floz) Dark Beer
  • 100 ml (3.25floz) BBQ Sauce
  • Salt and Pepper
  • 1 Medium Onion

Instructions

  1. Grate the potato using the coarse side of a box grater.
  2. Cut the onion into 4 wedges.
  3. Take the potato, egg, pork shoulder, mustard, thyme, salt and pepper and mix together in a bowl.
  4. Wet your hands and form this mix into 6 evenly sized meatballs and set aside.
  5. Heat a frying pan that can be transferred to the oven over a medium high heat.
  6. Melt the butter for the sauce and when melted add the flour.
  7. Stir to and cook until lightly browned, this will take 3-5 minutes
  8. Now pour in the beer, water and BBQ sauce.
  9. Simmer for 5 minutes then taste and add salt as required.
  10. Add your meatballs and onion wedges.
  11. Spoon a little of the sauce over the meatballs and transfer to the oven.
  12. Cook for 45-50 minutes at 160°C or 325°F.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

2

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 824Total Fat: 47gSaturated Fat: 20gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 23gCholesterol: 259mgSodium: 1316mgCarbohydrates: 44gFiber: 3gSugar: 23gProtein: 40g

Calorific details are provided by a third-party application and are to be used as indicative figures only.

Did you make this recipe?

If you made this recipe, I'd love to see what you did and what I can do better, share a picture with me on Instagram and tag me @krumplibrian and tell me how it went!

© Brian Jones
Cuisine: Modern European / Category: Pork Recipes

Cindy

Saturday 8th of June 2019

Do you use cooked potato? Raw doesn’t seem right.

Brian Jones

Sunday 9th of June 2019

Yes Cindy, raw potato, the 45 minute cooking time is ample for them to cook through and they are almost unnoticeable as a flavour but help the overall texture of the meatball.

April @ Girl Gone Gourmet

Friday 24th of March 2017

Beer in hand and beer in the 'balls... sounds perfect to me lol. Great recipe, as always, Brian!

Brian Jones

Friday 24th of March 2017

Hehe, thanks April :D

Meaghan | Cook. Craft. Love.

Monday 20th of March 2017

Braised with meat is just about the only way I'll consume beer. These sound fabulous and you can't ever go wrong with cheesy polenta!

Brian Jones

Monday 20th of March 2017

Noooooo, beer is the stuff of life, you must try harder ;) :p

Kristina @ Love & Zest

Friday 17th of March 2017

Beer adds such a great flavor to the right dish, especially cheese! This looks amazing and I have to agree, usually when I think of meatballs I think of mom's spaghetti. This is a great twist on the classic meatball! I'm loving this recipe.

Brian Jones

Sunday 19th of March 2017

Thanks Kristina, this is definitely a barnstormer of a recipe.

Brian Jones

Friday 17th of March 2017

Cheers Dan, definitely one of my more adventurous combinations and it took a little while to get it right but it really works so well.

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