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Hawaiian Meatballs I

Meatballs made with beef, turkey, oats, and served in a pineapple-orange sauce.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 16 ingredients
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Why it works: Onion and garlic match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 29,058 recipes. Both carry furaneol, which smells caramel, strawberry. The science ↓

Hawaiian Meatballs I

Oven375°F

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the meatballs

  1. Preheat the oven to 375°F.

  2. In a large bowl, combine the ground beef, ground turkey, onion, garlic, oats, egg white, pumpkin pie spice, thyme, salt, and pepper.

  3. Roll the meat mixture into about 42 balls, and arrange on a large nonstick spray-coated baking pan.

  4. Bake in the upper half of the oven for 12 to 15 minutes or until browned, turning once during browning.

Make the sauce and simmer

  1. For the sauce, combine the orange juice, pineapple, soy sauce, brown sugar, ginger, and salt, in a 3-quart flame proof casserole.

  2. Heat the ingredients to a simmer.

  3. With a large slotted spoon, transfer the meatballs to the sauce mixture, and simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally.

  4. Continue simmering for about 30 to 35 minutes, until the sauce has cooked down and thickened so that it coats the meatballs.

Serve and store

  1. Serve at once, or cover and refrigerate.

  2. Meatballs will keep in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

909Calories
73 gProtein
27 gFat
92 gCarbs

Counts 14 of 16 ingredients. The other 2 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 14 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Beef100g cooked250
Chicken100g cooked165
Oat1/2 cup dry (40g)154
Pineapple1 cup chunks (165g)82
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Orange1 medium (131g)62
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Soy Sauce1 tbsp (15ml)9
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Garlic1 clove (3g)4
Thyme1 tsp dried (1.4g)4
Ginger1 tsp grated fresh (2g)2
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Pumpkinnot in our table0
Pienot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Onion + garlictop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together29,058 recipes

    Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).

  2. Oats + pumpkintop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together194 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-methoxy-4-vinylphenol (clove, smoky).

  3. Beef + oniontop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together17,092 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  4. Beef + turkeytop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together248 recipes

    Shared aroma: trans-2-decenal (waxy, orange).

  5. Garlic + clovetop 10% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together11,368 recipes

    Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Beef chuck roast
Provides rich flavor and a tender, juicy bite when ground into the meatballs.
Ground turkey breast
Adds lean protein and a softer texture to the meat mixture.
Quick-cooking oats
Absorb juices and help the meatballs hold together while keeping them tender.
Egg white
Binds the meat mixture so the meatballs keep their shape while baking.
Orange juice
Forms the sauce base, adding sweetness and acidity that balance the savory meat.
Crushed pineapple
Adds sweetness and moisture to the sauce and brightens its flavor.

The step that matters

Simmering the meatballs in the sauce. Simmering uncovered and stirring reduces the liquid so the sauce thickens and clings to the meatballs. Cooking too briefly leaves a thin sauce; cooking too hard can break the meatballs apart.

Swap the clove

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (beef, turkey, onion, garlic, oats, egg, pumpkin):

  1. Thymefits better
  2. Gingerfits better
  3. Sagefits better
  4. Clovethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against beef, turkey, onion, garlic, oats, egg, pumpkin. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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