Grass-Fed Beef · Mexican
Albóndigas en Chipotle (Mexican Meatballs)
Albóndigas en chipotle are a fixture of Mexican home cooking and fondas: soft meatballs studded with rice and fresh mint, simmered in a smoky tomato sauce. Grass-fed ground beef with 20% fat keeps them juicy, and a splash of bone broth gives the sauce real depth.
- Prep30 min
- Cook35 min
- Total65 min
- Servings6
Ingredients
- 1 kg organic grass-fed ground beef, 80% lean $290
- 1 organic pasture-raised egg $90
- 1/3 cup uncooked white rice, rinsed
- 2 tbsp fresh mint (hierbabuena), finely chopped
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin, 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper
- 3 hard-boiled organic eggs, chopped, for stuffing (optional) $90
- 6 Roma tomatoes
- 1/4 white onion
- 2 garlic cloves
- 2–3 chipotles in adobo, plus 1 tbsp adobo sauce
- 2 cups organic beef bone broth $215
- 1 tbsp oil
Instructions
- Mix the ground beef, raw egg, rice, mint, cumin, salt and pepper until combined; don't overwork.
- Form into 12–14 balls about the size of a golf ball. If you like, press a bit of chopped hard-boiled egg into the center of each.
- Blend the tomatoes, onion, garlic and chipotles with 1 cup of bone broth until smooth.
- Heat the oil in a wide pot, pour in the sauce (careful, it splatters) and fry it for 5 minutes, stirring.
- Add the remaining broth and bring to a simmer; season with salt.
- Gently drop in the meatballs, cover and simmer over low heat for 30–35 minutes, until the rice inside is tender.
- Serve with white rice or Mexican red rice, warm tortillas and a little sauce spooned over.
Tips
- Wet your hands to roll the meatballs so the mixture doesn't stick.
- Adjust the heat with more or fewer chipotles; a pinch of sugar balances very acidic tomatoes.
