Every Jewish home has a sweet and sour meatballs recipe. For some of us, it’s scribbled down on a soiled napkin. For others, it’s in our favorite kosher cookbook. And probably for most of us, it’s not written down anywhere but instead trapped in our grandmas’ heads.
That was the case for me, until a couple of years ago when my mom and I went on a mission to make a family cookbook. For hours, we trailed my grandma around the kitchen with measuring cups, paper, a pen, and lots of patience, and attempted to document one of our family’s favorite recipes.
We are so happy we did! It’s absolutely delicious. Tender meatballs, chicken wings (my family’s twist on the classic!), and that heavenly sweet and sour sauce.
Let’s talk about that sauce for a minute–it’s the epitome of a Jewish classic. It shows up in our meatballs, stuffed cabbage, and brisket. It’s the perfect combination of onion, garlic, tomato sauce, sugar, and lemon juice (for my family, at least). It’s slightly sweet, slightly tangy, and totally delicious.
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Now whenever I want to make sweet and sour meatballs, or my sister wants to, or my aunt wants to, we all pull out our copy of the family cookbook and can replicate Grandma’s recipe perfectly. We still can’t get my grandma to use her copy of the cookbook, but I guess she doesn’t need to be reminded of the dishes she’s been making us for years. Thanks Grandma.
Sweet and Sour Meatballs Recipe
A classic recipe for sweet and sour meatballs that’s easy to make and perfect for any occasion.
- Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
Ingredients
For the chicken and sauce:
- 2 Tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 lbs chicken wings
- 2 (8-oz) cans tomato sauce
- 1 can chicken broth
- ¾ cup sugar
- 2 tsp kosher salt
- ¼ tsp pepper
For the meatballs:
- 1½ lbs ground beef
- 1 large red potato, peeled and grated
- ¼ large onion, grated
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 2 eggs
- 1½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp pepper
- juice of 1 large lemon
Instructions
- Heat vegetable oil in a 5 quart sauce pan over medium heat. Add diced onion and garlic. Sauté until onions are soft, 5-6 minutes.
- Add chicken wings, tomato sauce, chicken broth, sugar, salt and pepper. Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes.
- While the chicken is simmering, make the meatballs. In a large bowl, add ground beef, grated red potato, grated onion, garlic, eggs, salt and pepper. Mix together until just combined.
- Form 1-inch meatballs and drop into the simmering sauce. Simmer uncovered for 30 minutes.
- Skim fat from top and discard. Add lemon juice and simmer for an additional 30 minutes. Serve over wide egg noodles. Enjoy!
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Category: Dinner
- Method: One-Pot
- Cuisine: Ashkenazi
26 comments
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kosher
Pronounced: KOH-sher, Origin: Hebrew, adhering to kashrut, the traditional Jewish dietary laws.
What do you do with the wings?
You add them to the sauce.
They get cooked with the meatballs and can be served together, sounds delicious.
I am excited about making this recipe. My grandmother used to make a wonderful sweet and sour meat dish ‘Essic Flashe’ (I apologize, but don’t know how to spell it). I’m hoping this recipe is at least close to her sauce. Is it necessary to add the chicken as well as the meatballs?
Thank you ! I have been looking for good Sweet & Sour recipes.
You MUST have the classic recipe for S & S Meatballs. I never heard of adding raw wing segments to the simmering sauce, but, why not. 1 bottle of Heinz Chili sauce rinsed out with 1/3 bottle water, 1 8-10 ounce jar of seedless red current jelly or grape jelly. Add seasoned or unseasoned beef meatballs to the mixture and simmer it for 3 hours as the sauce concentrates and seasons the meatballs. the sauce should darken as the sugars in the sauce caramelize. Chill and reheat very slowly so as not to burn the sauce. You can season the meatballs if you want with salt, pepper, garlic powder onion powder, bread crumbs…anything you want just not Italian seasonings sine this is not an Italian appetizer. I have never heard of throwing in chicken wings but, why not?
Where’s the sour in the sweet and sour sauce?
lemon juice
I use apple cider vinegar with mother. Is using lemon juice preferable?
I do not understand where the 2 lb of chicken wings fit into this recipe???
My first thought 🤔
Years ago, my mother-in-law made a dish she called Chicken Fricassee. It had chicken wings and meatballs. It had a sweet and sour sauce from lemon and sugar. This looks similar to what she made.
I don’t understand why the recipe calls for a separate sauce made with 2lbs of chicken wings. There are so many good recipes for meatballs cooked in its own sauce. Personally, I like to use sour salts (citric acid) for the sour, though lemon juice can be used.
The sour is the lemon juice added to the end of the recipe. The chicken wings are added in step 2, so it seems they are boiled.
The recipe reminds me of my aunt’s chicken fricassee recipe.
Sounds pretty good.
Italian Kid from the Bronx — my Nonna Lucia made everything from scratch, no recipe. Once I asked her how to make something “You take a little this, a little that, then some of this.” I really tried. Nonna- forgive me for buying Italian Cookbooks – whatever I make will NEVER replicate your food for the gods.
A dear, departed friend had what I considered the very best sweet and sour meatball recipe. The meatballs are up to you, and the sauce is just 2 ingredients:
Heinz Chili Sauce and red currant jelly.
Raisins are optional.
Thanks, Alice- we all miss you.
Can’t wait to make this! Our recipe didn’t have chicken and the sauce was made with ginger snaps, brown sugar, tomato sauce and lemon juice. This one looks terrific.
Can this recipe be made a few days ahead and frozen?
Can this recipe be made a few days earlier and frozen?
Yes of course!
I use apple cider vinegar with mother for the sour. Have you found lemon juice preferable?
This specific recipe uses lemon juice, but if you use ACV let us know how it goes!
We had a twist on this, where the sweet was from pineapple juice and then the pineapples are added to the sauce. And the sour was more of a spicy. It had a little bite to it. I experimented for years and then someone in a group suggested an ingredient that was it!! It is a Hot version of Paprika. I have since experimented, and found that I can use some other ingredients if I don’t have that, to get the little bite.
But I am mystified with the balls PLUS wings. To me, it would be one or the other.
The other thing is, sometimes we have these with Mashed Potatoes. The potatoes are simple. I always reserve a large ladle of the potato water, and use it only as needed to make the potatoes, which I season with garlic and dill. (My mother’s way of making them).
The 2 go together so well. But also good over egg noodles.
This could really use some sour salt or lemon juice to make it sour. Otherwise it looks good
I make it with 1 can whole berry cranberry sauce, brown sugar 1 bottle Heinz chili sauce, + 1 bottle water. and half a lemon juiced.
simmer the sauce. I usually use frozen veggie meatballs. Simmer them in the sauce. Serve over mashed potatoes.
The chicken wings seem to exist to flavor the sauce, just like raw chicken is used to make soup. But I don’t understand the need for a can of chicken broth with all those wings in there.