Meatballs in Mushroom Sour Cream Sauce

These are no ordinary meatballs. The ground beef mix gets loaded with sharp cheddar and a can of deviled ham, which pack each one with a salty, savory richness you won’t get from plain seasoned beef.

There’s also a tenderizing trick built in. Bread stuffing soaked in evaporated milk forms a panade, a soft paste that keeps the meatballs moist and light instead of dense and tough. Work it through the meat before shaping and browning.

The sauce is comfort-food simple: cream of mushroom soup enriched with the browned meatball drippings, then sour cream stirred in for tang and body. One rule you can’t break, and the recipe shouts it: do not boil once the sour cream goes in. High heat will curdle it and turn the sauce grainy.

Spoon the meatballs and their creamy mushroom sauce over hot boiled rice, and you’ve got a warming, old-school dinner.

Chef Tips

• Soak the stuffing in the evaporated milk before mixing. This panade is the key to tender, juicy meatballs.
• Add the sour cream off the heat and never let the sauce boil, or it will break and turn grainy.
• Skim the fat from the drippings before stirring them into the soup so the sauce isn’t greasy.

Variations

• Stir in sauteed fresh mushrooms for more texture and earthy flavor.
• Serve over egg noodles or mashed potatoes instead of rice.
• Swap the deviled ham for crisp crumbled bacon, or leave it out for a milder meatball.