Sweet and Sour Meatballs

The sauce used here is also available as a standalone recipe: Sweet and Sour Sauce (Meatballs).

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp. (30 ml) canola oil
• 1 medium yellow onion, minced
• 1 15-oz. (430 g) can tomato sauce
• the juice of 1 lemon (about 2 tbsp. (30 ml))
• ¼ cup (60 ml) firmly packed dark brown sugar
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 2 lb. (910 g) ground beef chuck
• 2 eggs, beaten
• ⅓ cup (80 ml) long-grain white rice, parboiled for 3 minutes
• 1 cup (240 ml) bread crumbs
• 1 medium yellow onion, grated on the coarse side of a box grater
• 2¼ tsp. (10 ml) kosher salt
• ½ tsp. (2.5 ml) freshly ground black pepper

Method

1. To prepare the sauce, heat the oil in a large Dutch oven, then sauté the minced onion over medium heat until tender and golden, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the tomato sauce, and rinse out the can with ½ cup (120 ml) water to loosen any sauce that remains, adding that liquid to the pan. Stir in the lemon juice and brown sugar.
2. Bring to a simmer, uncovered, over medium heat. Remove from the heat and set aside.
3. To make the meatballs, put the ground meat in a large bowl and push it to one side. Add the eggs, rice, bread crumbs, onion, salt, and pepper to the other side of the bowl and combine with a large fork. Work in the meat, handful by handful, until everything is thoroughly blended.
4. Return the sauce to a gentle simmer over medium heat. Using a 1/4 cup (60 ml) measuring cup, shape meatballs and drop them gently into the sauce. Cover and simmer slowly for 30 minutes, gently rotating and pushing the meatballs around halfway through the cooking so that they are thoroughly coated in sauce after about 15 minutes. Correct the seasoning with salt and pepper if necessary. Serve hot.