JAMBALAYA BALLS

Jambalaya Balls image

Yield Makes about forty 3/4-inch meatballs

Number Of Ingredients 16

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound ground pork
1 pound ground chicken, preferably thigh meat
1/2 pound andouille sausage, finely diced
1/2 pound shrimp, shelled, deveined, and finely diced
3 cups cooked long-grain white rice
1 small red onion, finely diced
1 red bell pepper, halved, seeded, and finely diced
2 large eggs
1/2 cup bread crumbs
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon sweet paprika
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
Pinch of cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon salt

Steps:

Preheat the oven to 450°F. Drizzle the olive oil into a 12 × 17-inch rimmed baking sheet and use your hand to evenly coat the entire surface. Set aside.
Combine the ground pork, ground chicken, sausage, shrimp, rice, onions, bell peppers, eggs, bread crumbs, tomato paste, garlic, paprika, red pepper flakes, cayenne, and salt in a large mixing bowl and mix by hand until thoroughly incorporated.
Roll the mixture into round, 3/4-inch meatballs, making sure to pack the meat firmly. Place the balls in the prepared baking dish, being careful to line them up snugly and in even rows vertically and horizontally to form a grid. The meatballs should be touching one another.
Roast for 14 minutes, or until the meatballs are firm and cooked through. A meat thermometer inserted into the center of a meatball should read 165°F.
Allow the meatballs to cool for 5 minutes in the baking dish before serving.