Venison, Pork and Cherry Meatballs with Cherry Gastrique
Very lovely subtle mix of sweet and sour. The meatballs are tender, juicy and delicious and make an impressive presentation.
Ingredients
For the meatballs
- 1/2 lb. Ground pork
- 1/2 lb. Venison, pork and cherry sausage; casings removed
- 1/4 cup Onions, finely minced I would've preferred shallots, but was out. Either/or works fine.
- 2 lge. Garlic cloves, minced
- 1 Tbsp. Fresh sage, chopped
- 1 lge. Egg
- 1/3 cup Panko bread crumbs
- 1 tsp. Salt
- 1/2 tsp. Freshly ground black pepper
For the Cherry Gastrique
- 1/4 cup White sugar
- 1/4 cup Red Wine vinegar
- 1/2 cup Cherry preserves
- 1/4 cup Chicken stock
- 1 Tbsp. Butter, cut into little pieces
- Salt/Pepper to taste
Instructions
To make the meatballs
- Using your hands, gently mix the ground pork and sausages together. Add all other ingredients and mix again until just combined.
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Form into 1" sized meatballs and place on a sheet-pan lined with parchment.
- Bake for 15 minutes until golden brown and bubbling.
To make the Cherry Gastrique
- Melt 1/4 cup sugar in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir until the sugar is melted, then stop stirring, but continue heating and occasionally swirling the pan until the sugar turns a golden, deep amber color. This can burn very quickly so watch to make sure it doesn't get too dark.
- Remove from the heat and carefully add 1/4 cup vinegar. The mixture will spit and foam up so use care.
- Add 1/2 cup cherry preserves and 1/4 cup chicken stock. Whisk continuously over medium heat until it thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon.
- Finish the gastrique by whisking in 1 Tbsp. cold butter cut into small pieces. Whisk until the surface looks glossy. Adjust for salt/pepper.
To serve
- Toss the warm meatballs into the warm cherry gastrique to coat them thoroughly. Top each meatball with a toothpick or cocktail pick. Spoon a little more gastrique over the top to ensure that each meatball is a juicy bite!