Teriyaki meatballs are a great make-ahead dish that can be used as a side or the main coarse. I use my standard meatball recipe and then adjust the teriyaki sauce to suit what we feel like eating at the moment. You can make the sauce a little thicker with a pinch more cornstarch. Add more garlic if you’d like. If you’d like a bit of heat you can add red pepper flakes.
Mix all ingredients together. Make into balls by hand or with an ice cream scoop. Pan fry or bake in the oven until the meatballs are thoroughly cooked. This recipe works well if you want to double or triple it to put meatballs in the freezer. You can freeze them on a cookie sheet before placing them in a freezer container so they stay separate. Freeze raw or cooked. I use this recipe for teriyaki meatballs and Bourbon meatballs.
Taste the sauce before you add it to the meatballs. Does it need more of something? Add it before the sauce cools. Add a little at a time. You can add more but if you add too much you can’t take it out.
In a small pan, heat 2 cups of pineapple juice to simmer. Stir in the cornstarch, a little at a time. The juice will thicken quickly. Continue to stir until it stops thickening. This should take five to six minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
In a separate pan, mix together the soy sauce, 2 cups of pineapple juice, garlic, ginger, mustard and brown sugar. Simmer and stir until the brown sugar dissolves.
Slowly add the thickened pineapple juice to the larger pan. Stir until it is well blended.
Add the cooked meatballs to the teriyaki sauce. Warm over low to medium heat until the meatballs and sauce are hot. They're now ready to serve.