Jamie Oliver's Big British Meatballs

I’ve been a fan of Jamie Oliver for about as long as I can remember, both for his cooking style and his ethos on food in general. He’s a strong advocate of healthy eating, especially for kids, and always comes up with easy recipes using seasonal ingredients to create well-balanced meals. He’s got tons of cookbooks (15+) and his shows are almost always on TV, so there’s definitely a huge selection to choose from if you want to be inspired by one of his creations. This take on Jamie Oliver’s Big British Meatballs is the ultimate comfort food, easy enough for a weeknight meal, but hearty and perfect for a weekend dinner.

His recipes range from 30-minute meals (full meal ideas, not just single recipes) to more elaborate comfort food-style recipes. They are always easy to follow, don’t use hard-to-find ingredients, and focus on creating a balanced dish that anyone can make. This is exactly my kind of cooking! So, I thought I would try out some of his recipes and make at least one each month and blog about it here.

There really are so many to choose from, but when looking for this month’s recipe, his Big British Meatballs were impossible to resist. It’s to-the-bone cold in London at the moment, and I’m craving all things soup, casseroles, and hearty. This recipe is definitely hearty! It’s from his ‘Comfort Food‘ book, and is the book I’ve used the least so far because the recipes are more elaborate and time-consuming. But I had some time on my hands, and most of the ingredients, so I decided to give it a try. You. Guys. Am I glad that I did…! I’m not a huge meat eater, but this was so tender, so full of rich but not overpowering flavor, and despite quite a few ingredients/steps, relatively easy to pull together. This would make for a great make-ahead meal, or a Sunday dinner.

If you are looking for a cozy and hearty winter dish, then look no further and give this a try!

The recipe can be found here and also copied below. I used lamb instead of pork, and halved the recipe – it came out perfectly, and made about 4 servings. This came out very savory (don’t worry about it being too sweet with the jelly, or too bitter with the pale ale!), and I served it on a bed of creamy mashed potatoes and garnished with savoy cabbage.

This is one of the recipes that Jamie Oliver made on Jimmy Kimmel Live, and you can watch the video here.

Big British Meatballs

Serves 8

2 hours
363 calories

Meatballs
2 large onions
2 sprigs of fresh rosemary
Olive oil
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 lb ground pork
1 lb ground chuck steak
1 handful of bread crumbs
3 oz good-quality sharp Cheddar cheese

Gravy
7 oz finely ground chuck steak
1 large onion
2 sprigs of fresh rosemary
1 beef bouillon cube
¾ cup pale ale
2 heaping tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon blackcurrant jam
2 teaspoons English mustard
2 tablespoons malt vinegar

For the meatballs, peel the onions, pick the rosemary leaves, then finely chop them together (or blitz in a food processor) and put into a large frying pan on medium heat with a lug of oil, the Worcestershire sauce, and a good splash or two of water. Cook for around 20 minutes, or until the liquid has disappeared and the onions are sweet and lightly caramelized, stirring occasionally. Season to taste, leave aside to cool, then put into a bowl with the ground meat and bread crumbs. Using clean hands, mix it all together beautifully, scrunching for a minute to create a delicious texture. Divide into 16 equal sized balls, then wash your hands and cut the cheese into 16 cubes. Poke and push a piece of cheese into the center of each ball, then gently roll into perfect balls. Take pride in your balls, repeat, until they’re all done, and place in the fridge.

For the gravy, put the ground meat into a large saucepan with a little oil and cook until golden, stirring regularly. Meanwhile, peel the onion and finely chop with rosemary leaves, then add the ground meat and cook for another 5 minutes, or until lightly golden. Crumble the bouillon cube, then pour in the ale. Cook away until nice and dark, then stir in the flour, jam, mustard, vinegar, and 3 cups of water. Simmer for around 30 minutes, or until rich and thick, then season to perfection. Preheat the oven to full whack (475 degrees Fahrenheit) and preheat a high-sided roasting pan.

When you’re ready to go, drizzle the preheated pan with oil and add the balls, leaving nice gaps between them. Blast at the top of the oven for around 15 minutes, or until golden. Remove the pan, pour the gravy over the balls, and pop them back into the oven for about 5 more minutes, to get everything cooked into each other – sometimes I even baste the balls with a little gravy to give them a lovely shine. Serve on mashed potatoes or smashed root veggie, with some lovely seasonal greens on the side.

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Jamie Oliver’s Big British Meatballs

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