Cornbread meatballs in a spicy cranberry glaze

I had some ground beef in the freezer, and it has been there for a spell, so decided I needed to get creative, and use it up.  Ground beef is one of my least favorite things to work with.  I always end up doing burgers of some variation, and in the middle of a December cold snap, I'm not really up for grilling outside.

 

My sister suggested meatballs.  Great idea!

I have a stash of Jiffy cornbread muffin mix in the pantry, and that gave me an idea for the meatballs.  I also have several jars of my homemade jellied cranberry sauce in my canned good storage, and that took my idea a little further.  Cornbread meatballs, paired with a spicy cranberry glaze.

As I thought about browning the meatballs, I remembered a pan I'd been given as a gift, a couple of years ago.  It was from my sister.  It's an ebelskiver pan, and it's designed to make those round, lovely pancakes you can find in Danish restaurants.  I thought the pan would make for the perfect browning vessel for my meatballs, and I was right.  Why have I never thought of this before now?

Here they are, waiting to be flipped.

 

And after flipping!  Perfectly browned.

 

I was bound by the size of my pan, but that's fine.  This isn't a size sensitive recipe.  Make 'em large, make 'em small...whatever you wish.

Ingedients:

Meatballs
1 package Jiffy cornbread muffin mix (you will only use half of the yield, so plan to freeze the other half)
1 lb. ground beef (use a fattier ground beef - if it's too lean, the meatballs will be dry)
1/2 a small white onion, chopped
1 egg
1/3 cup milk
2 teaspoons coarse salt
1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

Spicy cranberry glaze
1 cup jellied cranberries
1 cup chili sauce

Directions:

Make cornbread, according to the package instructions.  Once cooled, divide cornbread in half.  You will only use half the yield, so bag/freeze the other half for later.  Break the remaining half into very small pieces and transfer to a large mixing bowl.  Add ground beef and onion.  Stir to combine, and set aside.

In a small mixing bowl, whisk the egg and milk.  Add the salt and pepper and stir to combine.  Pour over the cornbread mixture, and with your hands, bring mixture together until all ingredients are well distributed.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

With an ice cream scoop (small or large, whatever you choose), shape meat balls, and set aside.

Heat a large skillet to medium.  Use your ebelskiver pan, if you have one.  Brown meatballs, turning so all sides are browned evenly.  Transfer to a cookie sheet, and bake in the pre-heated oven until cooked through, 10-20 minutes, depending upon size.

In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the cranberries and chili sauce until a smooth sauce forms, and it begins to thicken.  Toss with meatballs, and serve as you wish.

We used our meatballs to make sandwiches, topped with dressed arugula.

 

Bon appetite!