My kids are in love with the pork meatballs I make with quality pastured meat I obtain from a local farm. This tasty, nutrient dense meat comes from happy pigs that are free to run around outside in the sunshine. Pastured pigs that are exposed to UVB rays produce lots of vitamin D which is stored in the lard.Â
These happy hogs compare with the unfortunate and miserable animals from huge hog confinement operations known as CAFOs (Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations). Believe it or not, a single CAFO building housing confined pigs might hold 1,000 or more sows or 10,000 or more market hogs! These poor animals don’t even have enough room to turn around in most cases!
Do you want your pork to come from these animals? Â I sure don’t!
There’s no way I want one red cent of my food dollars to go to the companies that treat animals this way not to mention that this type of industrialized farm is detrimental to the environment and the food produced from it will not compare with the nutrition from hogs living outside in the fresh air and sunlight.
Marinated Pastured Pork Meatballs
When you make the effort to obtain truly pastured meat from happy hogs to make pork meatballs, you will be delighted to discover very little seasoning is required as the taste is fabulous and rich all on its own.
These pastured pork meatballs can be served alone with veggies cooked in butter (my usual way) or can be used for that occasional bowl of spaghetti and meatballs if you desire. Â Another idea is to slice them in half, add a homemade pizza sauce, melt some cheese on top and serve on sourdough buns.
Leftover pork meatballs are great to pack in lunchboxes the next day too. My problem is that most of the pork meatballs are gone so fast I don’t have hardly any leftovers. Â I had to practically arm wrestle my teenager to snap the picture above before all the meatballs were gone from the baking pan!
Enjoy this ground pork recipe? Try this recipe for breakfast sausage too.
Marinated Pork Meatballs Recipe
This recipe for pastured pork meatballs is marinated for optimum digestibility as practiced by traditional cultures.
Ingredients
- 1 lb pastured ground pork
- 1 egg
- 2 crusts sourdough or sprouted bread
- 1/4 cup soy sauce preferably unpasteurized and traditionally brewed
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
Marinade
- 1/2 cup lemon juice
- 1/2 cup liquid whey strained either from clabbered milk, yogurt or kefir
Instructions
-
Marinate ground pork in lemon juice/liquid whey mixture in a glass bowl uncovered in the refrigerator for 1 hour. Dry the meat thoroughly with paper towels or a clean dishcloth.
-
Place dried out bread crusts in a food processor and pulse until you have evenly sized breadcrumbs.
-
Place marinated ground pork in a bowl and mix in bread crumbs and egg with your hands. Add sea salt, pepper and soy sauce and mix again.
-
Form meatballs with your hands slightly smaller than the size of a ping pong ball. Place meatballs on a stainless steel baking pan or a glass baking dish and bake on 350 F/177 C until browned and thoroughly cooked (about 40 minutes).
-
Serve immediately.
-
Refrigerate leftovers and reheat as desired.
Sarah, The Healthy Home Economist
My kids’ favorite lunch is leftover meatballs. I use grass fed hamburger and pork rinds in place of he breadcrumbs. I have to make 2lbs. for 4 people for dinner and lunches each time.
I don’t eat pork either, so I think I will make mine with ground beef or turkey.
Pork is a dangerous meat, thanks for the goat suggestion have never tried it! Need to see where I can find some!
Pork meatballs are my favorite. You can do so many variations. I like parsley and kale added to my regular pork meatballs (also with an egg). But when I use the tamari I make them without breadcrumbs. Just egg, lots of cilantro, a Tbsp. coconut oil, tamari, ginger, scallions and/or green onions, etc. And I know it’s not the best for you, but a dash of toasted sesame oil makes them really really delicious. They taste just like potsticker/dumpling fillings without the breading. You can make a simple soy, rice vinegar, ginger dipping sauce too. They’re a hit around here and so easy. Oh and I bake mine for only 18 minutes at 400. They’re really tender that way.
yum,yum,yum,yum – I’ll take the sour dough with marinara sauce and some cheese please. with a tall glass of fresh milk please.
You can sub ground grassfed beef or buffalo if you like. I love goat meat but only eat it when I go to a local Indian restaurant.
We don’t eat pork. Got any ideas for goat meat? We have three we’re taking to the butcher this weekend… 🙂
I was just thinking to use goat meat to make these. We don’t have access to pasture raised pork, but we do to pasture raised goat. 🙂
Thanks again healthyhomeeconomist for a dinner idea today for the family! I happen to have a little package of pastured pork from the farm sitting in my freezer! 😀
Never tried it with soaked oatmeal. I really like that idea! I made my chili with half pastured ground pork and half ground grassfed beef … will have to try for meatballs. I do like that flavor variation.
Hi Sarah, I live in Ormond Beach,fl, can you tell me from which farm you get your pork from please, I can’t find it around here,maybe i can order maybe from online or I can drive by thanks
These are great – I usually do a mixture of pastured ground beef and pork and I substitute soaked oatmeal If I haven’t any bread on hand. I will try all pork next time. Thanks!
The ground pork can be marinated in its own,right?I mean as long as it is properly soaked.Thanks Sarah.You help so much.