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Mexican Style Stuffed Meatballs

This is a variation from the original recipe above
Course Main Course
Cuisine Mexican
Servings 6 Servings

Equipment

  • 1 large pot

Ingredients

Albondigas

  • 2 lbs. ground beef, chuck, sirloin
  • 1 1/2 tsps. salt
  • 1 1/2 tsps. pepper
  • 1 1/2 tsps. garlic powder
  • 1 tsp. cumin
  • 1/2 c uncooked rice
  • 2 large eggs

Salsa Roja

  • 1 1/2 tbsps. Avocado oil
  • 6 large chile New Mexico pods
  • 6 large chile cascabel
  • 1 tbsp. chiltepin
  • 1/2 medium onion, roughly sliced
  • 4-5 cloves of garlic
  • 2 Roma tomatoes, quartered
  • 5 1/2 cups water or chicken broth
  • 3 tbsps. tomato bouillon
  • 1 1/2 lbs. previously cooked nopales
  • 1 tsp. oregano, crushed
  • Salt and pepper, to taste
  • 4 previously cooked hard-boiled eggs, quartered

Instructions

Albondigas

  • In a large bowl mix all of the ingredients, minus the hard-boiled eggs. Cover and chill for 1 hour.
  • When ready, divide the beef into 13 equal portions. Roll each into a ball, then form a thick disc. Take one quarter piece of the hard-boiled egg and place it in the middle of the disc, fold over like a taco and then tuck and roll in your hands until the egg is concealed completely. Repeat until done. Chill until ready to use.

Salsa Roja & Assembly

  • Remove the stems and seeds from the chile New Mexico and the cascabel. If they look dusty, rinse them under cool water.
  • In a large pot heat 1 1/2 tbsps. of avocado oil at medium. Add all of the dried chiles to the pot with oil. After a minute or two, they should start to sizzle and lightly aromatic. Stir and flip them for the next minute.
  • Move the peppers to one side of the pot. Add the onions and garlic, Sauté for 2-3 minutes. Add the tomatoes and sauté for another 3 minutes. Pour in 4 cups of water and bring up to a light simmer. Cook for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat at let it sit for 20 minutes.
  • When ready transfer all the ingredients in the pot to the blender jar. Cover tightly and blend on high until smooth. I use a power blender so there is no need to strain the salsa. If you want a smoother salsa, you can strain it through a wire mesh strainer.
  • In a large pot, preheat 1 1/2 tbsps. of avocado oil at medium for a few minutes. Once it's hot, carefully pour in the reserved salsa from the blender jar. Pour in another 1 3/4 cups of water and mix in another tbsp. of tomato bouillon. Bring it up to a simmer and taste for salt and pepper. Season, to taste.
  • While the salsa is simmering, carefully drop in the albondigas. Cover the pot with the lid. Reduce heat slightly. Cook for 10-15 minutes without stirring. When ready, gently stir the albondigas. Add the oregano and nopales. Cover once again and continue simmering for 30-35 minutes or until the rice is cooked through. The rice will look puffy. Serve in shallow bowls with plenty of salsa and some nopales. A side of rice is nice and warm corn tortillas of course!