Wild Rice Bison Meatballs
by Mill City Farmers Market, Tastemaker in Residence - Submitted by Jenny Heck, Marketing & Events Manager - Recipe by Heather Meyer
Makes 12 meatballs. Cook’s Note: Plan ahead for cooking the wild rice. Hand harvested wild rice will take about 15-20 minutes to cook. Commercial wild rice will take much longer. You can also use cooked quinoa in place of wild rice. Burgers can also be made with this recipe. Freezes well.
Ingredients
1 lb. ground bison (or substitute beef) from Sunshine Harvest Farm
1/2 cup wild rice, cooked (see note above) from Prairie Hollow or Sunrise Flour Mill
2 tsp Dijon mustard
2 Tbsp shallot, minced
1 tsp salt
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 egg, mixed
¼ cup breadcrumbs
¼ cup grated hard cheese from Shepherd’s Way or Cosmic Wheel Creamery
Barbecue sauce for serving
Instructions
Place all ingredients in a large bowl. Gently combine without over mixing, until evenly incorporated. Form into small meatballs. This can be made less messy by getting a bowl of water to dip your fingers in while shaping the meatballs.
In a large saucepan, heat olive oil to cook meatballs. Cook a few at a time, being careful to not lift them up until they release from the pan. Set them aside, and finish with the rest. When all meatballs are seared, place BBQ sauce in the same pan, no need to wipe out the pan. Cover and bring to a low simmer, then add the meatballs. This can also be done in a crockpot. Cook gently for about 10 minutes.