Meatballs in Amaretto BBQ Sauce
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Today’s recipe was an easy decision. I’ve been in the mood for meatballs and I just used half a bottle of Amaretto in a canning recipe and was wondering what I could do with the rest of the bottle. These delicious meatballs were just what I was looking for.
I began by cooking the sauce and wasn’t thrilled with the smell of it when it began cooking. I had a taste after 15 minutes of cooking and started getting worried. It tasted strongly of vinegar and sugar but I kept on cooking it. Meanwhile I started on the homemade meatballs.
After 45 minutes of cooking the sauce it had reduced by about a third and was thick. The color has also deepened and I was pleasantly surprised by the resulting flavor. It was sweet, tasted slightly of almonds, and had a rich tomato flavor. I poured it over top of the meatballs and continued cooking for 10 minutes. We then poured the meatballs over top of rice which worked perfectly with these meatballs.
Meatballs in Amaretto Barbecue Sauce (slightly adapted from the Haggis and the Herring, the meatball recipe is my own)
For the Amaretto Barbecue Sauce:
3 T. butter
1 large onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 c. ketchup
6 oz. can of tomato paste
12 oz. Dr. Pepper
1 oz. Amaretto liqueur
1/2 c. cider vinegar
1/3 c. Worcestershire sauce
1/4 c. brown sugar
1 t. black pepper
2 t. chili powder
1/2 t. salt
For the meatballs:
1 lb. lean (93/7) ground beef
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup onion, minced
1/4 c. seasoned breadcrumbs
1 egg
1 t. black pepper
1 t. salt
1. In a large saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Saute the onions and garlic for 10 minutes in the butter.
2. Add in the remaining sauce ingredients and bring to a boil.
3. Reduce the heat and simmer for 45 minutes to 1 hour.
4. While the sauce is simmering make the meatballs. Combine the ground beef, garlic cloves, and onion in a large bowl. Add in the egg and mix well. Stir in the breadcrumbs, pepper, and salt.
5. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
6. Form the meatball mixture into 1 inch meatballs and place them in the skillet. Cook for 10 minutes, browning on all sides.
7. When the sauce has thickened pour it over top of the meatballs and allow them to simmer for 10 minutes.
8. Serve over top of rice or mashed potatoes.
I’m sorry to hear about Daniel’s passing. I’ve never come across his blog before so I’ll have to check it out, but it’s always a tragedy when somebody dies so young – and I think that this is a lovely way to honour him. The recipe sounds wonderful, and it combines three of my favourite things – Amaretto (my all-time favourite liqueur), BBQ, and meatballs. Thanks for sharing 🙂
great recipe. so sorry about your (our) loss.
Thank you for the wonderful tribute to my brother.
A beautiful recipe and tribute.
Very nice tribute to Daniel. This recipe is so representative of the kind of hearty recipes I would find on his site.
This was ALMOST the dish I made. My boys were rallying for the Dr. Pepper meatballs as they called them. Another time.