Meatballs Au Poivre
Meatballs au Poivre combines juicy, tender meatballs with a bold black pepper crust and creamy pan sauce for the ultimate comfort food. It’s rich, flavorful, and fancy enough for entertaining, but easy enough for a weeknight meal.
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Ingredients
Meatballs
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- ½ cup shallots, minced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 pound ground pork
- ½ cup panko breadcrumbs
- ½ cup grated parmesan cheese
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3 tablespoons coarse-ground black pepper
Pan Sauce
- 2 tablespoons butter
- ¼ cup shallots, minced
- 1 teaspoon coarse-ground black pepper
- ¼ cup cognac, or brandy
- 1 ½ cups beef broth
- 1 ½ cups heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
- ½ teaspoon salt
Instructions
Meatballs
- Add 1 tablespoon olive oil to a large skillet on the stove over medium high heat.
- When the oil is hot, add the ½ cup shallots and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add the minced garlic and cook for another minute. Remove the skillet from the heat and set it aside.
- In a large bowl, combine the ground beef, ground pork, panko breadcrumbs, parmesan cheese, egg yolks, and salt. Add the cooked shallots and garlic, then use your hands, or a spatula, to combine all of the ingredients.
- Once the ingredients are combined, form the mixture into about 30 golf-ball sized meatballs. Sprinkle the coarse-ground black pepper evenly on all sides of the meatballs.
- In the same skillet you cooked the shallots and garlic, add an additional tablespoon of olive oil, bring to medium-high heat and place the meatballs in the skillet, brown on all sides for 3-4 minutes per side, or until cooked through.
- Remove the meatballs from the pan and set aside.
Pan Sauce
- Keep the pan over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon butter. Once melted, add the minced shallot and ground black pepper. Cook for 2 minutes.
- Add the cognac and cook down for 3-4 minutes, then stir in the beef broth and bring to a simmer, stirring and scraping up any browned bits. Whisk in cream, then simmer, stirring often, until sauce has reduced enough to glaze a spoon. Whisk in the dijon mustard and season with salt.
- Add the meatballs back to the skillet and spoon the sauce over the meatballs. Serve immediately with mashed potatoes or cooked egg noodles.
Notes
- These meatballs are very peppery, hence the name au poivre "with pepper", but you can certainly reduce the pepper used to crust the meatballs down to 2 tablespoons and you'll still get a nice peppery crust.
- To make these meatballs gluten-free, replace the panko breadcrumbs with gluten-free breadcrumbs.
- Store any leftover meatballs and sauce in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. You can reheat them in a skillet on the stove, or in the microwave.
Nutrition Facts
Calories 803kcal (40%)Carbohydrates 14g (5%)Protein 34g (68%)Fat 66g (102%)Saturated Fat 31g (155%)Polyunsaturated Fat 4gMonounsaturated Fat 25gTrans Fat 1gCholesterol 257mg (86%)Sodium 1161mg (48%)Potassium 698mg (20%)Fiber 2g (8%)Sugar 4g (4%)Vitamin A 1177mg (24%)Vitamin C 4mg (5%)Calcium 190mg (19%)Iron 4mg (22%)
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