Evelyn's Sweet and Sour Meatballs

This is my grandmother's sweet and sour meatball recipe. For those who like to use up everything, it's a great way to make use of sweet pickle juice - as the pickles are used up, I just save the juice in a jar at the back of the fridge. Easy, quick prep, can be cooked on stove top, in oven or crockpot and can cook meatballs in the sauce or pre-cook in microwave, fry pan or oven. This recipe freezes well and is easily doubled. Also kid-friendly; my 4 year old who is going through the stage of "KD and hotdogs or nothing" eats this without prompting!
- Ready In:
- 1hr 40mins
- Serves:
- Yields:
- Units:
3
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ingredients
-
Sauce
- 1 cup ketchup
- 1 cup sweet pickle juice (eg. bread and butter, sweet mixed, etc.)
- 1 cup water
- 1⁄2 cup brown sugar, packed
- 1 tablespoon soya sauce
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch (optional)
-
meatball (also good for meatloaf)
- 1 1⁄2 lbs ground beef
- 1 egg, slightly beaten
- 1⁄2 cup milk (use 1 c for meatloaf)
- 1 1⁄2 teaspoons onion flakes or 1/2 small onion, chopped and sauteed
- 1 tablespoon parsley, chopped
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1⁄8 teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
directions
-
Sauce:
- Mix all ingredients (may leave out cornstarch, but sauce may be thin).
- Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer while preparing meat.
- Drop in meat and simmer at least 30 minutes more.
- If I'm not in a hurry, this sits and cooks on all day on the stove top.
-
Meatballs:
- Combine all ingredients and blend thoroughly - hands work best!
- Roll into small balls and drop into sauce, or cook first then add to sauce.
- Serve over rice.
- NOTE: Sauce is also great for ribs.
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RECIPE MADE WITH LOVE BY
@morleahs mom
Contributor
@morleahs mom
Contributor
"This is my grandmother's sweet and sour meatball recipe. For those who like to use up everything, it's a great way to make use of sweet pickle juice - as the pickles are used up, I just save the juice in a jar at the back of the fridge. Easy, quick prep, can be cooked on stove top, in oven or crockpot and can cook meatballs in the sauce or pre-cook in microwave, fry pan or oven. This recipe freezes well and is easily doubled. Also kid-friendly; my 4 year old who is going through the stage of "KD and hotdogs or nothing" eats this without prompting!"
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Hats off to Grandma Evelyn. :) I mean really, what are you suppose to do with pickle juice? I'd never given it much thought until now. This is an amazing sweet & sour sauce. Just perfect especially since it uses something that generally gets dumped down the drain. The fact that it can simmer all day is a bonus too. I made a double batch of both the sauce and the meat. I had 38 meatballs and 1 meatloaf, which I baked with the sauce on top. I did find the meat mixture quite wet, so added about 1/2 cup of panko breadcrumbs. Worked like a charm. Thanks so much Morleah's Mom for sharing your family recipe. ;) Honoured to make this as a "Thank You" for voting for Lawrencetown, Nova Scotia in the 2010 Kraft Hockeyville Competition.1Reply
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