Grilled meat balls

I didn’t think it was possible to skewer and grill ground meat. I always figured the meat would fall apart during cooking. Then a reader posted a comment that she intended to try cooking my skinless longganisa skewered and grilled over a barbeque pit. She e-mailed me later that she had done it.

I did some reading and realized that one way of preparing kabob was with a mixture of ground beef and lamb. Kabob is a traditional middle eastern dish made with skewered meat and vegetables. Hence, this grilled meat balls recipe is actually my version of the middle eastern kabob.

I was thinking of a good binder for the meat. Ordinarily, bread crumbs would be ideal but I wanted a flavor that would keep our dinner guests guessing all night what I put in the meat balls. I remembered how I cooked my beef embutido and decided to use powdered cream of mushroom soup.

Taking photos of each step of the entire cooking procedure was part of my plan but my husband made a last-minute request. Could we have balon-balonan (gizzard) barbeque as well? So, I had to braise the gizzards first and thread them on bamboo skewers before preparing the meat balls. There just wasn’t time to take photos. In fact, I barely had time to shower and get dressed before our friends started to arrive.

Ingredients :

For the meat balls :

300 g. of ground beef sirloin
300 g. of ground lean pork
3 eggs, beaten
1 pouch of powdered cream of mushroom soup
1 c. of finely chopped onions
2 tbsps. of finely chopped garlic
1/2 tsp. of cayenne powder
salt

To complete the dish :

3 red or green bell peppers or a combination of both
1-1/2 c. of pineapple chunks
1-2 onions, cut in wedges
12-15 bamboo skewers
cooking oil

Cooking procedure :

Soak the bamboo skewers in water for at least 30 minutes before use. This will prevent them from catching fire on the grill.

Core and seed the bell peppers, then cut into chunks.

Mix together all the ingredients for the meat balls. Blend well. Form the mixture into balls about two inches in diameter.

Thread a meat ball on a bamboo skewer followed by a piece of bell pepper, a wedge of onion and a piece of pineapple. Repeat the procedure so that you have two meat balls per bamboo skewer. Do the same for the rest of the meat and vegetables. Raw meat balls are soft. To make sure that they do not break and fall off the bamboo skewer at this stage, support them with one hand during and after threading. Then lay them on a plate immediately.

Brush the grill with cooking oil several times. Carefully lift each skewer and place the kabob on the charcoal grill about 8 inches from the heat. Turn the skewers at 45^o angles every three minutes. Cook until the meat balls are browned and the vegetables slightly charred.

Serve at once.