Asian Barbecue Chicken Meatballs

Many thanks to Nordic Ware for the complimentary 365 Indoor / Outdoor Meatball Griller.  Included here is information about the product.  All opinions are mine alone.

These jumbo-sized Asian Barbecue Chicken Meatballs are a fun way to change up your grilling routine and your meatball routine.

These Asian Barbecue Chicken Meatballs were super-fun to work on and may have created a grilling monster.  Not only did I try a fun grilling accessory from Nordic Ware, but this girl finally used hubby’s big-boy grill all by herself.

If you recall from a previous post, I was neutral about using our outdoor grill.  The outdoor grill is my hubby’s domain and he does an awesome job of it so why go there?  (Which, when you’ve been married for 20+ years, leaving your guy his “space” is never a bad thing.)  Until this posting, when I needed to grill something for my column, I used a grill pan or the grill insert for our gas cooktop which has always worked well.

I could have done these meatballs in the oven with this cool meatball griller.  However, I use plenty of other cooking equipment including commercial equipment on a daily basis, so why not the big-boy outdoor grill?

After a less-than-successful grill-lighting tutorial from my husband, my confidence about this new experience was slightly shaken.  Our grill is a well-loved 12-year-old gas grill so lighting it can be tricky.  When the time came to light the grill for this meatball grilling endeavor, I lit it like a champ.  Woohoo….grill power!

First, let me tell you about this super-cool grilling accessory you will want in your life.  The 365 Indoor/Outdoor Meatball Griller from Nordic Ware has:

• Wells deep enough to hold 12 jumbo-sized meatballs.  The wells can hold other things besides meatballs such as stuffed mushrooms, stuffed tomatoes and stuffed peppers.
• A nonstick surface for quick release and easy clean-up.
• A 5-year warranty.

Nordic Ware is an internationally distributed brand of cookware, bakeware, grillware, microwave cookware, kitchen gadgets and accessories.  They’re headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota and manufacture the majority of their products in the United States.  Yay!  Great for America and American workers!  They’ve been a part of family meals and celebrations since 1946.  Happy 70th birthday to Nordic Ware!

Onto these crazy good Asian Barbecue Chicken Meatballs, which of course, can also be made with turkey, pork or beef.

When mixing up anything with ground meat like meatballs or meatloaf, get all the ingredients except the ground meat mixed together first then add the ground meat.  This ensures the ingredients are more evenly distributed throughout the meat.  Also, just use your hands.  You can mix more thoroughly with your hands than you can with a spoon.  (Wear disposable gloves so nothing gets under your fingernails.)

I generally use a large 1 1/2-inch cookie scoop to form meatballs.  I place some of the meatball combination on the palm of my left hand, portion it with the cookie scoop with my right hand onto a baking sheet.  After portioning the meat mixture, I roll into neat balls with my hands.  Here I just eye-balled the meatballs into 12 even portions.  I’m digging jumbo meatballs as they’re less work!

I probably didn’t need to, however, I brushed the meatball griller with vegetable oil before placing the meatballs inside.  They released very easily.

This sauce is easy to pull together while the meatballs cook.  I like to keep a good inventory of Asian staples and pantry items such as soy sauce, hoisin sauce, unseasoned rice vinegar, oyster sauce, chili garlic sauce and fresh ginger.  Keeping items such as these on hand allows you to pull together an Asian-inspired meal like this in no time!

Let’s eat!

Asian Barbecue Chicken Meatballs

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Prep Time 15 min

Cook Time 15 min

Total Time 30 mins

Change up your grilling routine and your meatball routine with these Asian-inspired meatballs.

Ingredients

• INGREDIENTS
• 1 bunch scallions, white and light green part only, finely chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon minced ginger
• 1/4 cup applesauce
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons chili garlic sauce
• 2 teaspoons oyster sauce
• 1 large egg
• 3/4 cup panko
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 1/2 pounds ground chicken (preferably a combination of white and dark meat)
• canola oil for grill pan
• SAUCE
• 3/4 cup ketchup
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 3 tablespoons hoisin sauce
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 2 teaspoons chili garlic sauce (or to taste)
• 2 teaspoons minced ginger
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 2 scallions, white and light green part only, thinly sliced, for garnish

Directions

1. INSTRUCTIONS
2. MEATBALLS
3. Preheat an outdoor grill to medium-high heat (approximately 375 degrees) or preheat oven to 375 degrees.
4. Combine first 11 ingredients in a bowl. Add the ground chicken and mix well. Brush the meatball griller with canola oil. Form into 12 jumbo-sized meatballs and place in the wells of the griller.
5. Place meatball griller on the grill or in the oven. Cook for 15-18 minutes or until a meat thermometer inserted in the center registers 165 degrees.
6. SAUCE
7. While the meatballs are cooking, combine sauce ingredients in a saucepan. Bring to a simmer and cook 10-12 minutes or until heated through.
8. Serve sauce over meatballs. Garnish with sliced scallions.

by Carol | From A Chef's Kitchen

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