Firecracker Meatballs

These savory and spicy Firecracker Meatballs are easy to make with a simple homemade firecracker sauce. We serve these over rice and drizzle extra sauce over it all.

Course Appetizer, Main Course, Snack

Cuisine American

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 18

Total Time 28

Servings

Calories 2180kcal

Author Karly Campbell

Ingredients

For the meatballs:

1 pound ground beef 85/15 or leaner
1 large egg
½ cup panko bread crumbs
2 cloves garlic minced
1 scallion minced, plus more for serving
1 teaspoon minced ginger
1 teaspoon salt

For the sauce:

½ cup buffalo sauce
¾ cup dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes more or less to taste
2 tablespoons mayonnaise see notes

Instructions

To make the meatballs:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
Add all of the meatball ingredients to a large mixing bowl and use your hands to combine the mixture. Be careful not to overmix.
Use a medium cookie scoop to scoop out balls of the mixture and roll gently into a meatball.
Place the meatballs evenly spaced on the prepared baking sheets and bake for 15-18 minutes or until cooked through.

To make the sauce:

While the meatballs are baking, prepare the sauce by adding the buffalo sauce, brown sugar, vinegar, salt, and red pepper flakes to a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Whisk well to combine
Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook, stirring often, until the sauce has thickened, about 5 minutes.
Remove ¼ cup of the sauce and place in a small bowl with the mayonnaise. Whisk to combine. Reserve this sauce for serving. The remainder of the sauce will be used for tossing over the meatballs.

To serve:

Remove the meatballs from the oven and place in a mixing bowl. Pour the sauce (without the mayo) over the meatballs and stir gently to coat.
Serve the meatballs over a bed of rice. Drizzle with the creamy sauce (the sauce mixed with mayo).

Notes

This recipe works great with ground turkey or chicken in place of the beef, if you prefer.

You can use a milder buffalo sauce or less of the red pepper flakes if you want to make the sauce less spicy. Or use more if you want it even spicier!

If you allow the sauce to cool a bit before adding it to the mayo, it will make for a thicker, lighter colored sauce. If you stir it in while it's still hot, it won't look much different from the main sauce. Either version is delicious, but if you want a thicker, more distinct drizzle, let the sauce cool (pop it in the fridge or freezer while you wait for the meatballs to bake) and then stir in the mayo.

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