A Meatball for Every Meal: Breakfast Meatballs

Did you know there is a day of the year devoted to meatballs? Why yes there is, so happy National Meatball Day!

According the most reliable resource in the world (aka the Internet), March 9^th is celebrated worldwide as National Meatball Day.

As every culture and every country has a version of a “meat ball,” we need to celebrate these delicacies and their wonderful nuances. When I started to write about this auspicious day, I was fascinated that there were so many variations of meatballs per country.

Basically, meatballs worldwide are ground protein heavily seasoned with herbs and spices. Our Owner/Chef Shelley Young teaches you how to make a great meatball in this post. 

The one bridge to the development of each country’s meatball was that meatballs were an inexpensive way to share a protein while making it a satisfying, filling part of a meal. The gratification that comes along with each bite whether it be light and pillowy or dense and thick is a common thread that unites the world together.

For fun, the chart below can give you a starting point of a mere fraction of the popular meatball dishes in the world so you can make meatballs part of your dinner, lunch and breakfast. (More on breakfast meatballs below!)

Besides the protein/herb differentials, the cooking methods were all  over the board. Meatballs can be simmered, grilled, sautéed, baked, crock-potted (is that a word?) and steamed. They are served with sauces, in soups and sometimes nude. (The meatballs are nude not the people eating them.)

As I was reading about meatballs, I decided I wanted to really try something different while honoring this special day. And then it hit me…. why not try a breakfast meatball? It is the most important meal of the day. We eat all sorts of meat with breakfast… ham, steak, bacon and sausage. Why not a meatball?

So I did exactly that. In my early experiments, I cheated and used breakfast sausage as my meatball base. It was too aggressive and it missed the mark because it screamed “I am a ball of breakfast sausage.”

I also tried a breakfast Bloody Mary meatball. It needed some work but it was amusing to look at. Perhaps a future blog?

I finally just went back to the basics of ground pork and sage. No need to reinvent the wheel - or the meatball.

I made a jelly and maple syrup sauce to put on the meatballs. It was a play on the cocktail meatball with the thought that the jelly meatball with toast would be delicious. The salty/fattiness of the meatball was complimented wonderfully with this sticky and sweet sauce.

Breakfast Meatballs

Scroll down for a printable version of this recipe

Serves 6 as a side for brunch/breakfast

Makes 36 meatballs (6 per serving)

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 8-10 minutes

For the meatballs:

1 pound ground pork

1 teaspoon ground sage (I did make a batch with fresh sage but felt the ground herb gave it more flavor.)  

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1/4 cup Panko breadcrumbs

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground pepper (I did big coarse grinds)

1 egg, beaten

For the sauce:

1/3 cup maple syrup

1/3 cup jelly of choice (I used grape in one batch and a mystery berry blend in another. Both tasted great.)

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and cover a baking sheet with aluminum foil sprayed with no stick spray.

2. In a medium bowl, mix all the ingredients. The meatballs will feel sticky.

3. Scoop into 1 teaspoon balls. Think of a large truffle sized ball.

4. Place on the prepared baking sheet in a single layer. Do not overcrowd.

5. Bake for 8 minutes. Check temperature of meatball (160 degrees) to make sure it is cooked thoroughly. If they are not up to temperature, continue to cook in minute intervals. Do not overcook.

6. While the meatballs are cooking, make the sauce by heating up the jelly until it has dissolved over medium/low heat. Add the maple syrup and set aside.

This is the recipe to break out the good syrup. I got this as a gift and it was wonderful!

7. Place the jelly mixture in a bowl and toss with the hot meatballs.

8. Serve with the extra sauce in the bowl. It is outstanding drizzled over toast or waffles and served with eggs.

So, the next time you make a meatball, step out of your comfort zone and try something different. Pull something from another culture and you might just make a meatball that is out of this world. And if you do, share your creations in our private Facebook group (and if you aren’t already a member, join now!).

For a different twist on a meatball, don't miss our Virtual Arancini Workshop coming up on Sunday, April 16 at 11am CST. These are crispy risotto fritters, but they are often filled with meat. So, think of them as the ultimate reverse meatball! Chef Sara Salzinski gives you a preview of arancini and why you should learn how to make it in this post.