Hawaiian Sweet-And-Sour Meatballs

Retro Hawaiian-style sweet and sour meatballs that hit peak popularity at 1960s tiki parties and stayed in American home cooking ever since. Ground beef meatballs browned in a skillet get tossed in a glossy pineapple-vinegar-soy-brown-sugar sauce thickened with cornstarch, then finished with pineapple chunks and bite-size green bell pepper for color and crunch.

The nutmeg in the meatball mix is the unsung hero. A quarter teaspoon adds warmth that you can’t quite identify, but you’d miss if it weren’t there. Cooking the cornstarch slurry until it visibly thickens before adding the meatballs is what gives the sauce its restaurant-style glossy cling rather than thin and watery.

Pro Tips

• Brown the meatballs hard in batches if your pan looks crowded. Steamed-pale meatballs give you no flavor depth.
• Stir the cornstarch into cold liquid first, then add to the hot pan. Cornstarch dumped into hot liquid clumps instantly into glue.
• Add the pineapple and peppers only for the final 5 minutes. Longer cooking turns peppers limp and pineapple mushy.
• Use juice-packed canned pineapple, not syrup-packed. Syrup adds too much sugar to the already-sweet sauce.

Variations

• Substitute ground pork or a mix of beef and pork for richer flavor.
• Add 1 tablespoon of grated fresh ginger to the sauce for a brighter Asian profile.
• Serve over steamed white rice or in Hawaiian rolls as sliders for parties.