Scale

Ingredients

Ham Balls

2 eggs, beaten
1 cup panko breadcrumbs
1 cup finely chopped onion
2 pounds ground ham (grind your own or use something like Frick’s Ground Ham)
1 pound Jimmy Dean Premium All-Natural Regular Pork Sausage (or your favorite pork sausage)

Sweet and Spicy Sauce

1 can (20 oz) crushed pineapple, in juice, undrained
2 red sweet bell peppers, seeded and quartered
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup prepared (yellow) mustard
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon red pepper flakes, omit or adjust to taste

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350F
In a large bowl, combine the eggs and breadcrumbs.
Let stand and allow breadcrumbs to hydrate.
Add onions.
Crumble ham and sausage over mixture.
Mix well (clean hands works best).
Shape into 1 and 1/2 inch balls.
Place in two greased 13 by 9 inch baking dishes.
In a blender, combine pineapple, sweet bell pepper, brown sugar, mustard, vinegar, and red pepper flakes; cover and process until smooth.
Pour pineapple mixture over ham balls.
Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 45 to 50 minutes or until a thermometer reads 160 degrees. Baste occasionally with sauce.

Notes

Serve with white rice and stir fry vegetables. Make smaller balls and serve as an appetizer. This recipe would also make a great ham loaf.

Reduce sticky hands. Before mixing and shaping the ham mixture, lightly moisten your hands with cold water. A bit of cooking oil works as well.

Freeze half of the ham balls and sauce to use later. Freeze the ham balls on a baking sheet and once frozen store them in a zipper freezer bag. Store the sauce in a freezer-safe container.