Carnitas Meatballs

This recipe has some good aromatics in the meat which make rolling the meat kinda fun because it smells so good as you are working with it. The orange juice and lime juice give it a little more moisture to the meat mixture.

The chipotles in adobo also add a little more moisture than some of my other recipes so if you are having trouble with the meat sticking to your hands as you roll them you can always spray your hands occasionally with cooking spray or putting a couple of drops of oil on your hands to prevent the meat from sticking as you work with it.

The chipotles in adobo also add a little more moisture than some of my other recipes so if you are having trouble with the meat sticking to your hands as you roll them you can always spray your hands occasionally with cooking spray or putting a couple of drops of oil on your hands to prevent the meat from sticking as you work with it.

This recipe also has raw garlic mixed in with the meat. You really don’t notice it interfering with the making of the meatball or even interfering with mixing the meat together to get it ready for making meatballs out of it. You can make these meatballs any size you’d like. Like I mentioned above I made these a little smaller than normal since I was making them for little sliders to feed some folks that were coming over. Just make sure that you adjust the cooking time to make sure they are cooked through properly if you adjust the size. If you’re concerned you can take the internal temperature of a couple meatballs and make sure they register at 165 degrees Fahrenheit at least to make sure they are cooked through.

One of the thing I love to serve with pork is a nice tangy coleslaw. There is something so classic to me about that combination. It could be that we have a history of eating a lot of pulled pork and coleslaw sandwiches. Since pulled pork has a sweeter BBQ sauce on it a lot of times I really like a nice tangy coleslaw to contrast all that sweetness. I absolutely love making coleslaw with apple cider vinegar that has a nice bite to it. The only thing I add to my coleslaw to sweeten it is local honey. I only add enough honey to cut the vinegar to where it’s easy to eat. My coleslaw might be a little to intense for some folks so you can always add more honey to help. If you have a family favorite coleslaw that you would like to add feel free to substitute it for my recipe if you’re not a huge fan of vinegar.

There is something that I think works so well with serving these little meatballs as sliders with a tangy coleslaw as you can see pictured below. You get a nice flavor of Mexico with meatball itself combined with a classic southern pairing of pork and coleslaw.

You can always squeeze a little lemon or lime over the slides too to add a little last minute acidity to brighten up the slider. I’m a sucker for acidity and I love finishing off a recipe with just a touch of acid before you pop it in your mouth. These meatballs already have some citrus in the meat so it’s a nice little kick at the end before you eat. You can always top these with a little guacamole or your favorite salsa – the serving options can be anything you want with these little balls.

You can serve these in a crock pot with a chipotle in adobo sauce as well if you’d like to bring these over to someone’s house or just simply have them on a Sunday while watching some football. They are a great little appetizer for a taco themed party or a great main dish that you can throw in a flour tortilla with some crispy lettuce and tomatoes and queso fresco.

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