Only recently, it started to finally feel like summer. All of June was cold and rainy. Once the second week of July hit, you could finally feel the heat and humidity. Last week we had what felt like a deadly heat wave…for us Bostonians at least. It was up to 100 degrees and humid af. Up until this point, I had survived the entire summer without AC. But needless to say, during the heat wave, I installed my window AC unit. During the heat wave, I left it on for three days straight and I still died of heat inside my apartment. I am so grateful I had AC because without it would have been a different story.
Anyways, now that we’re finally feeling like summer over here in Boston, that means we can truly embrace all the things that make summer feel like summer. I’m talking trips to the beach, backyard barbecues, patio dinners, and of course, the food.
Summertime food is so damn good. It’s the only time you can actually eat fresh produce in Boston. Summertime food is full of things like citrus, fruits, grilled meats, raw vegetables, and tons of fresh herbs.
This Jerk Chicken Meatball dish is the perfect summer dish. It’s light, delectable, and fresh.
These meatballs are super flavorful with lots of Jamaican Jerk spices. They’re light enough to eat with vegetables, some rice, or on their own. Drizzled with lime and cilantro adds an extra punch of flavor. I could eat these all day.
But what makes this dish EXTRA good is the sauce. The Mango Habanero sauce, to be exact. This sauce is SO good. I’m talking…I would eat that on these meatballs, with some grilled chicken, on some fried rice, on top of some grilled steak tips, tacos…you name it! It is delicious. And it’s so easy to make! The Mango Habanero sauce truly is the star of this dish.
Jerk Chicken Meatballs with Mango Habanero Sauce
Ingredients
Jerk Chicken Meatballs
- 1 pound Ground Chicken
- 1 Egg
- 2 tablespoons Olive Oil
- 1/3 cup Breadcrumbs I used whole wheat
- 1/2 tablespoon Paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon All Spice
- 1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon Garlic Powder
- 1/4 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
- Salt and Pepper to taste
- Cilantro or Scallions to serve
Mango Habanero Sauce
- 1 tablespoon Olive Oil
- 1 medium Yellow Onion chopped
- 2 cloves Garlic minced
- 2 large Mangoes
- 1/2 Habanero Pepper deseeded and minced
- 2-3 teaspoons Honey
- 1 Lime juiced
Instructions
Jerk Chicken Meatballs
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and lightly grease a baking sheet with tinfoil or parchment paper
- Combine all the ingredients (except for the cilantro or scallions, if using) in to a large mixing bowl
- Thoroughly wash your hands and remove any rings from your hands..because no one likes making meatballs with rings on their hands…no thanks
- Using your hands, mix all the ingredients together until everything is evenly distributed throughout
- Scoop out a spoonful of meatball mixture and roll between your hands to form a bite-sized meatball. Place each meatball on the greased baking sheet. Repeat this process until you've made all of the mixture into meatballs.
- Bake the meatballs for 20-25 minutes until the tops are a light golden brown
- While the meatballs are cooking, make the Mango Habanero sauce
Mango Habanero Sauce
- Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat
- Saute the chopped onion until the onion turns translucent (about 5 minutes or so)
- Once the onion turns translucent, add in the garlic and cook for another minute
- Combine the onion, olive oil, garlic, mango, habanero, honey, and lime juice into a food processor. Feel free to add more habanero depending on your desired level of spiciness (I like spicy so I actually did add almost the entire habanero pepper).
- Process until the sauce is smooth. Add salt and pepper to taste
- If you are like me and like things spicy, feel free to add more habanero to get more of a kick
- Serve with meatballs and enjoy!
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