I’m forever making meatballs for weeknight dinners and Mike thinks I’m crazy to want to mix up meat, roll them into balls and cook them, but I love meatballs! Really, it doesn’t take a huge amount of time to mix them up at roll them and you don’t use anything chopped up, it goes a lot faster. Instead of chopping onions or mincing garlic, I like to use garlic powder and onion powder in weeknight meatballs just because it’s so much faster. Plus, when you bake your balls, it basically leaves you with some time to relax while the balls are getting all crispy in the oven.
These peri peri meatballs were inspired by Mike’s peri peri chickenMike’s peri peri chicken and Bon Appetit’s peri peri meatballsBon Appetit’s peri peri meatballs. I basically did a mashup of the two sauces. Classical peri peri contains special African peri peri chilis, which are essentially the African version of a bird’s eye chili, which is pretty much very close to Thai red chilis. I went with Thai red chilis and a bell pepper (like Mike does for his sauce), but added in the smoked paprika that Bon Appetit suggested for an extra hit of smokiness. All peri peri sauces have vinegar I went with rice vinegar because I love the rich lightness and tang.
Making peri peri is incredibly easy: pop everything into the blender, press the button and you’re done. Some of the peri peri sauce goes into the meatball mix for extra flavor, then from there, it’s just a question of mixing, rolling and baking. You might notice that these meatballs have just egg yolks and no whites and that’s because sometimes when you cook meatballs at a high heat, like we’re doing here, and they have no breadcrumbs, the egg whites tend to leak out. We’re solving that problem by just using yolks.
Also, if you’re not doing keto or low carb or you just like breadcrumbs in your meatballs, go for it! Without breadcrumbs, they are a tiny bit more meaty as opposed to tender, but I’m willing to sacrifice for that keto life.
These guys were amazing: spicy, smoky, meaty, and smothered in piri piri sauce. I loved the bed of sour cream and extra drizzle of olive oil. Definite keeper. At the very least, make the sauce and put it on EVERYTHING.
Low Carb Keto Friendly Piri Piri Pork Meatballs Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 bell pepper orange or red
- 1-4 Thai chilis stemmed and seeded, depending on spice level
- 2 cloves garlic
- 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil plus extra to serve
- 2 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1.5 tsp smoked paprika divided
- 1.5 tsp salt
- 2 large egg yolks
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 3/4 tsp ground cumin
- 1 lb ground pork
- Greek yogurt or sour cream to serve
Instructions
- Blend or purée the bell pepper, chilis, garlic cloves, 3 tablespoons of oilve oil, rice vinegar, 1 teaspoon paprika, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt until very smooth. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed. Transfer to a small bowl.
- Place a rack in the upper third of the oven and heat to 450°F.
- In a bowl, mix 2 tablespoons of the piri piri sauce with the egg yolks, garlic, salt, cumin, paprika. Use your hands to mix throughly and gently into the ground pork. Shape into 2 inch balls and space evenly on a lightly oiled foil lined rimmed baking sheet.
- Bake for 10 minutes then turn the oven on to broil and broil until just golden brown and cooked through, 5-6 minutes.
- Spread the yogurt or sour cream out onto the serving plate and arrange the meatballs on top, drizzling with the piri piri sauce and oil. Enjoy!
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-Steph & Mike
I love meatballs too, little flavorful protein packs, like Asian flavors too, not as dry as some meatballs can be on their own, thank you
oh yay!! super excited, i saw the original bon appetit recipe and was gonna get that fresno chili, but upon stumbling onto your blog and seeing i have all the ingredients, ill just use yours :D will sub the protein for leftover ground turkey and kurobuta pork! so excite. thank you
Just found this food blog looking for ideas of what bread to put my porchetta sandwiches on and what spread to use. Love the writing! Will be tuning in!
Just made these. Seriously delicious!!!!!!!!!
I’m weighing in WAY late, but I just wanted to tell you I make this recipe all the time and it’s always a winner. I even passed the sauce recipe on to a veg friend who also makes it on the reg. Great job!
i made these with pork and they were SO GOOD. highly recommend. i used a fresh red pepper and charred it along with the chiles.
Love this recipe, it’s a huge hit with everyone I make it for and a regular meal at our house. One small adjustment add a 1/8 tsp of xanthum gum to the sauce to emulsify it and get a smoother mouthfeel. It also keeps the watery bits of sauce from flooding your plate.