Viva la Mexico Balls
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 dried ancho chile, stemmed, seeded, and minced
- 1 dried guajillo chile, stemmed, seeded, and minced
- 1/4 cup tequila
- Juice from 1 lime
- 2 pounds ground pork
- 1 1/2 cups cooked long-grain white rice
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup bread crumbs
- 3 soft corn tortillas, minced
- 1 small onion, finely diced
- 1/2 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped (including stems)
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- Pinch of ground cinnamon
- Preheat the oven to 450F.
- Drizzle the olive oil into a 9 x 13-inch baking dish and use your hand to evenly coat the entire surface.
- Set aside.
- Combine the ancho chile, guajillo chile, tequila, and lime juice in a small bowl and let sit for 5 minutes.
- Combine the chile mixture with the ground pork, rice, eggs, bread crumbs, tortillas, onions, cilantro, tomato paste, garlic, red pepper flakes, salt, cumin, and cinnamon in a large mixing bowl and mix by hand until thoroughly incorporated.
- Roll the mixture into round, golf ballsize meatballs (about 1 1/2 inches), 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 20 minutes, or until the meatballs are firm and cooked through.
- A meat thermometer inserted into the center of a meatball should read 165F.
- Allow the meatballs to cool for 5 minutes in the baking dish before serving.
olive oil, ancho chile, guajillo chile, tequila, lime, ground pork, white rice, eggs, bread crumbs, corn tortillas, onion, fresh cilantro, tomato paste, garlic, red pepper, salt, ground cumin, ground cinnamon
Taken from www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/viva-la-mexico-balls-389553 (may not work)