Boar Meat Ball Sliders

As I said in the last blog post, James went to our new Sprouts recently.  He came back with quite a load of goodies.  One of which includes some ground ferrel swine (AKA Ground Boar).  I wasn't quite sure what we were going to do with it, but I was excited to try.  Then we were watching Friends today, one of our very favorites.  It was "The One With The Ride Along" and Joey gets the best meatball sandwich in the world.

That got me thinking.  I haven't made meatballs in months!!!  James loves my meatballs and they're great as subs or along with a great pasta.

The following recipe is pretty basic.  You can do this recipe with ground beef, ground pork, or ground turkey.  My suggestion to anyone is to be aware of the fat content of your meat.  A pork or a high fat ratio beef will possibly need more bread crumbs to hold it together.  The low fat ratio beef or a ground turkey could need less bread crumbs so they're not dry.

Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes

What you need:

1 Lb Ground Meat
1 T Chopped Garlic (or 2 cloves of fresh garlic)
1 Medium Onion Chopped Fine
1 Red Bell Pepper Chopped Fine
4 Strips of Bacon Chopped
2 T Diced Sundried Tomatos
1/4 C Italian Style Bread Crumbs
1/2 C Italian Style Bread Crumbs (separate)
2 T Olive Oil
2 Eggs
1/4 C Parmesan Cheese
1/2 T Salt
1 Tsp Pepper

Bread (I prefer Focaccia, but tonight we used Ciabatta)
8 oz. Mozzarella Sliced
Jar of your Pasta Sauce of Choice

1. In a skillet over medium heat add your olive oil, garlic and onions and caramelize.  Add the bacon and brown.  Add the bell pepper and the sun dried tomatoes and cook on low for 5 minutes to late the flavors develop.  Salt and Pepper to taste.

2.  Preheat your oven to 400°F.  In a mixer or a large bowl add your raw meat, 1/2 a cup of your sautéed mixture, your bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, Salt and Pepper, and eggs.  Mix thoroughly.

3.  On a plate pour your 1/2 C of bread crumbs.  Roll a portion of the meatball mixture, approximately 1/3 C, into a ball and roll through the bread crumbs to coat.  Layer in a greased metal or glass pan.  Place in the oven for 20 minutes turning every 5 minutes to brown.

4.  While the meatballs are cooking in the oven add the pasta sauce you chose to the remaining vegetables and simmer to thicken the sauce.

5.  When the meatballs are finished place them on bottom layer of bread, adding the slices of mozzarella to the top of each meatball.  Place in the oven to broil for 5-8 minutes or until melted and/or browned.  Remove from the oven add the thickened sauce to the top of the meatballs and add the top of the bun.

6. Enjoy!!