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Mexican Meatballs with Three Spicy Dipping Sauces

Mexican-inspired ingredients give these meatballs a subtle, but distinctive flavor. They're served with a variety of simple and spicy dipping sauces inspired by three generations -- Old-world northern Mexican salsa casera, south of the border home-style apricot jalapeño jam, and Latin fusion chipotle crema.
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time25 minutes
Total Time45 minutes
Course: Appetizer, Main Course
Cuisine: American
Servings: 16 meatballs
Author: Yvette Marquez-Sharpnack | Muy Bueno

Ingredients

Meatballs:

  • 1 pound lean ground beef at least 80%
  • ½ cup dry bread crumbs
  • ¼ cup milk
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
  • ¼ teaspoon pepper
  • 1 small onion chopped (1/4 cup)
  • 1 teaspoon Mexican oregano
  • 1 tablespoon hot sauce recommend Valentina

Salsa Casera:

  • 6 to 7 Anaheim chiles roasted and peeled
  • 1 or 2 jalapeño peppers roasted (optional)
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 3 cloves garlic finely diced
  • 1 14.5-ounce can whole tomatoes

Apricot Jalapeño Jam:

  • 1 cup apricot preserves recommend Bonne Maman
  • 1 jalapeño pepper

Chipotle Cream Sauce:

Instructions

Meatballs:

  • Heat oven to 400°F.
  • In large bowl, mix all ingredients. Shape mixture into twenty 1 1/2-inch meatballs. Place in ungreased 13x9-inch pan or on rack in broiler pan.
  • Bake uncovered 20 to 25 minutes or until no longer pink in center and thermometer inserted in center reads 160.

Salsa Casera:

  • In a food processor or blender, pulse the roasted and peeled chiles, jalapeño peppers (optional), salt, garlic, canned tomatoes, and tomato sauce for a few seconds. You do not want to puree it—chunky is best with this flavorful salsa.

Apricot Jalapeño Jam:

  • Place jalapeño in a saucepan with enough water to cover. Bring to a boil. Simmer until jalapeño softens, about 10 to 12 minutes. Remove stem and seeds from the chile and finely chop.
  • In a bowl combine apricot and chopped jalapeño.

Chipotle Cream Sauce:

  • Place in a blender the crema, sour cream, chipotle peppers, and salt. Blend until creamy.

Notes

The sauces can be made ahead of time and stored in the fridge. 

Nutrition

Calories: 106kcal | Carbohydrates: 8g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 28mg | Sodium: 361mg | Potassium: 191mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 420IU | Vitamin C: 9mg | Calcium: 46mg | Iron: 1mg