Buffalo pork meatballs with blue-cheese sauce

Buffalo pork meatballs with blue-cheese sauce

Our party-perfect Buffalo Pork Meatball recipe serves a crowd, so it's a great choice for your next game-day gathering. Made with ground pork, minced celery, bread crumbs, egg and cayenne pepper sauce, this appetizer features the fan-favorite flavors of buffalo chicken wings and is served with a creamy, blue-cheese sauce. You can make these spicy Buffalo Pork Meatballs ahead of your party or gathering so that you can enjoy your guests and the game.

Yield: 12 servings (60 meatballs)
Nutrition facts: Per serving: 210 calories, 17 g fat, 2 g carbohydrates (.1 g fiber), 12 g protein

Inspired? Create and share by tagging @hallmarkstores.

Ingredients

For the blue-cheese sauce

6 oz. plain low-fat yogurt
5 Tbsp. reduced-fat sour cream
1 cup crumbled blue cheese (4 oz.)
¼ tsp. pepper

For the meatballs

2 lb. ground pork
¾ cup finely minced celery
¾ cup plain dried bread crumbs
1 large egg
¼ cup plus 2 Tbsp. cayenne pepper sauce
2 Tbsp. olive oil

Directions

  1. Make the sauce: In a mini food processor, or with a hand blender, puree the yogurt, sour cream, blue cheese and pepper. Refrigerate until serving time. (The sauce can be made up to 1 week ahead.)
  2. Make the meatballs: Preheat the oven to 375°F. In a large bowl, combine the pork, celery, bread crumbs, egg and ¼ cup of the cayenne sauce. Form the mixture into meatballs the size of a large walnut, about 1 tablespoon. (The meatballs can be formed ahead and frozen for 1 week. Let them return to room temperature before proceeding.)
  3. In the same bowl, combine the remaining 2 tablespoons cayenne sauce and the oil, and blend well. In batches, add the meatballs to the mixture and toss to coat lightly. Shake off any excess. As you work, transfer the meatballs to a baking sheet.
  4. Bake the meatballs (in batches if necessary) for 7 to 10 minutes until cooked through but still juicy. (The meatballs can be baked several hours before serving.)

Tip: To freeze the unbaked meatballs, spread them on a baking tray and freeze solid (about 2 hours). Then store in an airtight container.