Smoked beef meatballs in a rich bravas sauce

These barbecued meatballs take their inspiration from Spanish tapas.

Smoked beef meatballs in a rich bravas sauce. Credit: Fun'Q with Spencer Watts

• serves

  6

• prep

  10 minutes

• cook

  35 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

Bravas sauce

• 1½ tbsp olive oil
• 1 shallot, sliced
• 1½ tbsp crushed (minced) garlic
• 2 Roma tomatoes, diced
• 1 tsp salt
• ½ tsp ground pepper
• 3 tsp sweet paprika
• 1 tsp hot paprika
• 1½ tsp smoked paprika

Meatballs

• 450 g (1 lb) beef mince (ground beef)
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp onion powder
• ½ tsp chilli flakes
• 1 tsp sea salt, or to taste
• ½ tsp ground pepper
• 3 tsp chopped fresh rosemary
• ½ cup grated manchego cheese
• ¼ cup panko breadcrumbs
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• Parmesan cheese, to garnish (or use extra manchego)

Potatoes

• 12 baby russet potatoes
• 3 tsp oil
• ½ tsp salt, or to taste
• ½ tsp pepper, or to taste

You will also need ½ cup of soaked wood chips and ½ cup of dry wood chips.

Instructions

1. Add oil, shallots and garlic to a pan and allow to cook down for about 1 minute. Once onions are soft add tomatoes and season with salt, pepper, sweet paprika, hot paprika and smoked paprika. While mixing all together, add chicken stock and allow to cook down for about 10 minutes.
2. Once cooked down, add hot mixture to the blender with the cap removed to allow the steam to escape. Puree the sauce. Allow the sauce to cool until ready to use.
3. Boil baby russet potatoes and strain once cooked. Allow to cool. Season the potatoes with oil, salt and pepper.
4. Meanwhile, place the ground beef into a large bowl. Add garlic powder, onion powder, chili flakes, sea salt, pepper, rosemary, and Manchego cheese to large bowl. Add panko and beaten eggs and with clean hands mix everything together gently. Roll into 12-16 meatballs.
5. Prepare your grill for indirect cooking - one side on high, the other with no heat.
6. Prepare your smoke pouch. Place ½ cup of soaked wood chips onto a large piece of tin foil.
7. Add ½ cup of dry wood chips and mix them together. Wrap the foil around the wood chips loosely and make a sealed package. Using a fork, poke holes in the foil and place the package over the high heat area of the grill, below the grates. Once the smoke starts to billow, place the meatballs on a cool grill and allow to smoke on the closed-lid grill for about 10 minutes.
8. Remove the smoke pouch and switch meatballs over to the high heat side of the grill for a sear and move them around until there are char marks on all sides. Once charred, allow to rest on the top rack of the grill. Then toss potatoes on the grill and allow to char.
9. In a cast iron pan or pot on the grill, add bravas sauce and allow to warm through.
10. Serve hot sauce with meatballs and potatoes added off the grill, garnished with parmesan cheese.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.