I made these veggie bbq meatballs for a Christmas party potluck. I ended up mixing up a modified version of this homemade bbq sauce with a bottle of pre-made Korean BBQ sauce, but you could use your favorite bbq sauce. The meatballs came out really nice and tender and the sauce was sweet and tangy!
Gimme Lean Ground Beef Style is really different from other fake meats in that it really holds together. It is the closest I have found to tasting like real beef. This stuff also makes great hamburgers and gyros! For tacos and such, however, other kinds of soy and wheat meat work better since this stuff is hard to break up.
I forgot to take a picture of the final product! Just picture the meatballs in BBQ sauce 🙂
Meatballs
1/2 tablespoon oil
1-2 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 onion chopped
3 pieces whole wheat bread
2 Trader Joe’s frozen garlic cubes
1 egg (I am not sure if this is totally necessary since the Gimme Lean is very sticky)
Squeeze ketchup
Salt
1 + 1/2 log Gimme Lean Ground Beef Style (the leftover 1/2 can make great burgers!)
More oil for browning meatballs
BBQ Sauce
2 cups ketchup
2 cups water
1/2 cup white vinegar
4 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 tablespoon white pepper
1 tablespoon mustard
1/2 a lemon squeezed
2 1/2 tablespoons worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1 bottle Korean BBQ sauce
- Heat oil in a skillet and saute the fennel and onions until browned.
- Throw the onions and all the other ingredients except for the Gimme Lean in a food processor until crumbly.
- Add a little of the Gimme Lean a bit at a time until it doesn’t break up any more. This stuff is really sticky!
- Throw into a bowl and finish mixing thoroughly with your hands.
- Roll into little meatballs.
- Heat more oil in the skillet and brown the meatballs on all sides.
- Mix all the bbq sauce ingredients and throw into a slow cooker (you can also just heat on the stove and add the meatballs for 30 minutes or so).
- Add the meatballs and cook on high until the sauce is heated up and the meatballs tender.
