Sticky Bourbon Meatballs with Mash
Glossy, mahogany-glazed meatballs piled on a cloud of buttery mash, sticky bourbon sauce pooling into the potatoes with fresh parsley scattered over the top.
Ingredients
Serves 4- 500 gbeef mince
- 250 gpork mince
- 60 gfresh breadcrumbs
- 1egg, beaten
- 1onion, finely chopped
- 2garlic cloves, crushed
- 15 gparsley, chopped
- salt and black pepper, to taste
- 75 mlbourbon
- 50 gbrown sugar
- 100 gketchup
- 1 tbspWorcestershire sauce
- 800 gpotatoes, peeled and quartered
- 50 gbutter
- 100 mlmilk, warmed
Method
- Get the mash going first; it forgives waiting, the meatballs don't. Drop the peeled, quartered potatoes into a pan of cold, well-salted water (it should taste balanced before you move on), bring to the boil and simmer for 15–18 minutes until a knife slides through with no resistance. Starting them in cold water means they cook evenly from edge to centre.
- Drain thoroughly and return to the dry pan over a low flame for a minute to steam off any clinging water; wet potatoes make gluey mash. Mash with the butter and warmed milk until silky. Season generously with salt and pepper, lid on, set aside.
- Mix both minces, breadcrumbs, beaten egg, finely chopped onion, crushed garlic and half the parsley in a large bowl. Season with salt and pepper, then mix with your hands until just bound. Stop once the mixture holds its shape; overworking makes dense meatballs.
- Roll into 16 even meatballs. Heat a large frying pan over medium-high heat, then brown the meatballs in two batches, letting their fat render into the pan. Leave space between them so they brown.
- Turn each meatball as it releases (about 6–8 minutes per batch) until caramelised on all sides and springy to the touch. Lift them out onto a plate. Those dark stuck bits on the pan base are the foundation of the glaze; leave them.
- Take the pan off the heat before pouring in the bourbon. Return to medium heat and scrape the browned bits from the base with a wooden spoon. Once the bourbon has reduced by half, stir in the brown sugar, ketchup and Worcestershire sauce.
- Roll the meatballs through the sauce and simmer gently for 6–8 minutes, turning often, until the glaze is glossy, syrupy and clinging thickly to each meatball.
- Cut one meatball open to check there's no pink inside. Taste the sauce; it should be sweet, smoky and tangy. Add salt to sharpen the sweetness or Worcestershire sauce for more depth.
- Spoon the mash onto warm plates, add the meatballs and glaze, and scatter over the remaining parsley.
Per serving
- kcal
- 947
- protein
- 41.8g
- fibre
- 5.9g
- carbs
- 71.5g
- fat
- 50.4g
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