Sweet-and-sour orange meatballs, very soft, a recipe that is part of our collection dedicated to traditional meatball recipes: grandma’s recipes.
Sweet-and-sour meatballs with orange, like Grandma’s fried meatballs or Sicilian-style meatballs in sauce, are one of my family’s favorite dishes; after all I am Sicilian and sweet-and-sour is a flavor that has accompanied us since childhood (see: Sicilian eggplant caponata ;-)).
I often prepare this dish and have tried many versions, varying and adjusting ingredients depending on what I had at home. Many times I’ve made sweet-and-sour meatballs with vinegar, other times I made them with lemon, and many other times I made them sweet-and-sour with oranges.
The version of non-fried sweet-and-sour meatballs with orange juice that you will read now is particularly soft compared to other versions; in the mixture I added soaked stale bread, a trick that makes meatballs tender. To make them even more flavorful, I let them simmer with a soffritto of celery, carrots and onion. These ingredients, together with the creamy orange sauce that remains in the pan, create a tasty accompaniment for our dish and a delight that absolutely begs for bread to mop up the sauce!
If you’re tired of the same old meatballs and are looking for an alternative to the usual meatballs, try this recipe — you’ll love it!!
Also check out these other tasty meatball recipes:
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Very inexpensive
- Rest time: 10 Minutes
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Portions: 5
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
Sweet-and-sour Orange Meatballs: ingredients…
- 1.1 lb ground beef (or veal)
- 2 eggs (medium)
- 3.5 oz stale bread (about 2 cups torn)
- as needed milk (or water)
- 2.1 oz cheese (grated, such as Grana or Parmesan (about 2/3 cup))
- 1 1/4 cup orange juice (freshly squeezed (about 10 fl oz))
- 1/3 cup white wine (about 3.4 fl oz)
- 1 carrot (large)
- 1 onion (large)
- 1 stalk celery
- as needed extra virgin olive oil
- to taste salt
- as needed all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon honey (or sugar, level tablespoon, only if the oranges are tart)
Tools
- 1 Frying pan
- 1 Bowl
Sweet-and-sour Orange Meatballs: preparation…
To obtain soft and tasty meatballs whether baked or cooked in a pan, it’s always best to start with a secret ingredient: soaked stale bread, preferably homemade or durum wheat semolina bread. If you don’t have stale bread, use fresh bread but use less liquid.
Cut the bread into pieces, place it in a bowl and pour warm milk (or water) over it; wait for it to rehydrate and then mash it into a pulp with your hands.
Place the ground meat in a bowl, add the eggs, the grated cheese, a pinch of salt, the two eggs and all the soaked bread.
Work with your hands until you get a homogeneous mixture, then let it rest for 10 minutes.
Form balls from the mixture; make them slightly larger than a walnut and roll them in flour.
Peel and finely chop the carrot and onion, and chop the celery stalk (discard the leaves).
Collect everything in a large pan and sauté in a good drizzle of olive oil.
Once the soffritto has softened, place the meatballs in the pan; let them cook for a few minutes over medium heat and turn them.
Deglaze with the white wine — don’t worry, the alcohol will evaporate during cooking leaving only a pleasant aroma.
When the wine has evaporated, add the orange juice, adjust the salt and cook over moderate heat until a delicious creamy sauce forms on the bottom of the pan.
If your oranges are too tart, use half juice and half water and, if necessary, add a tablespoon of honey or sugar.
Our sweet-and-sour meatballs with onion and orange juice are ready; let them rest for 10 minutes before serving.
You can prepare the meatballs in advance and a little before serving, add a bit of water and wait for the sauce to thicken again. They’ll look freshly made.
You can prepare the meatballs in advance and a little before serving add a bit of water and wait for the sauce to thicken again. They’ll look freshly made. Store leftovers in the fridge in an airtight container and consume within 24 hours after reheating with a little water, either in a pan or in the microwave.
