Korean-Inspired Wagyu Meatballs

When you think meatballs, does your mind automatically take you to marina land? While we love a good traditional Italian meatball with red sauce, this Korean-inspired take on meatballs and noodles is a big win when you want to change up the flavors at dinner time. 

First things first: start with high-quality meat. We used All-Natural Ground Wagyu Beef in this recipe. With its 80% lean composition without losing the succulent marbling that makes Wagyu so delicious, this premium meat is ideal for making a juicy, tender and flavorful meatball. Plus, our recipe doesn't infringe on the natural flavor of the meat by adding too much to the meatball recipe itself. Instead, we let the product shine. 

That said, we don't doctor up the meatballs with extra seasonings. Instead, we stick with salt and pepper, plus a little fresh chopped onion. We like it coarsely chopped to add some texture. We also mix in panko breadcrumbs and a whole egg. The resulting blend is very moist and makes for super juicy meatballs. 

Once cooked, these meatballs are excellent on their own. Be sure to take a nibble of one just to get a sense of that excellent premium beef flavor. We offer a sauce recipe here to accompany the beef, but if you want to eat them plain, we don't blame you!

Our sauce is inspired by a Korean bulgogi-style sauce, which often includes fresh ginger and grated fresh pear (in our sauce we use pear juice — the concentrate from canned pears, that is). This is where we punch up the flavor. Dried ginger, chili garlic sauce and sesame oil all make an impact on a punchy Asian sauce that amps up rice or noodles and provides a nice counterpoint for the succulent Wagyu beef.

Order your ground Wagyu beef today from Frontière Natural Meats.

Wagyu Beef Meatballs with Korean-Inspired Bulgogi Sauce 

serves 4

Ingredients:

For the meatballs

16 oz Frontière Natural Meats Wagyu beef
1/2 onion, roughly chopped
1/2 c panko breadcrumbs
1 large egg
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

For the sauce:

1/2 c soy sauce
1/2 c brown sugar
5 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 Tbsp powdered ginger
1 Tbsp sesame oil
1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
3/4 cup apple juice or pear juice
1/2 tsp chili garlic sauce

To serve:

Ramen noodles, rice noodles, angel hair pasta or rice
3 Tbsp chopped chives
1 Tbsp sesame seeds

Instructions:

For the meatballs

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Using your hands, gently mix all ingredients in a medium bowl. Scoop out the meat mixture and gentle roll into 12-14 meatballs, each about two inches in diameter. The mixture will be fairly wet. Arrange meatballs in a single layer on baking sheet.

Place the baking sheet in the oven on the middle rack and cook for 18-20 min or until meat has lightly browned all over. 

 

For the sauce

In a small sauce pot over medium heat, add all the ingredients and mix well. Allow the sauce to come to a light boil, then turn down the heat to medium-low and allow to reduce for up to 20 minutes. 

Meanwhile, prepare rice, pasta or noodles as desired.

Once the sauce is finished, plate the noodles or rice topped with meatballs and sauce. Sprinkle with chives and sesame seeds. Serve immediately.