Sesame-Soy Meatballs

Pictures don't do justice to these succulent meatballs.

Gordon prepared these yummy meatballs based on a recipe in the budget cooking section of Cooking Light Magazine.  They were absolutely delicious, and if you have a reasonably well stocked pantry they are indeed very budget conscious.

Note:  To keep recipes budget friendly, make substitutions when necessary.  We didn't have any chile paste (sambal oelek) on hand, so Gordon substituted sriracha chile sauce (you know, the Rooster sauce with the green plastic top).

Sesame-Soy Meatballs

1/2 cup minced green onions
2 tablespoons brown sugar
3 tablespoons lower-sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons dark sesame oil
1 tablespoon chile paste (such as sambal oelek)
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 garlic cloves, finely minced
1 pound ground sirloin or other ground beef
Cooking spray

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Combine green onions, brown sugar, soy sauce, sesame oil, chile paste, salt, and garlic in a large bowl.  Add beef and mix gently to combine.

With moist hands, shape beef mixture into 20 (1 1/2-inch) meatballs.

Heat a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat.  Add half of the meatballs to the pan.  Cook 4 minutes, turning to brown meatballs on all sides.

Arrange browned meatballs in a single layer on a jelly-roll pan coated with cooking spray, or if using a higher-fat ground beef arrange browned meatballs on a baking rack set over a jelly-roll pan coated with cooking spray (so that more of the fat can drain off during the baking).

Bake meatballs at 400 degrees for 7 minutes or until done.