Pumpking and Maple Meatballs

My turn to cook at home and I decided to cook spaghetti and meatballs for me and the boys.  I was in a pumpkin mood so I busted out a bottle of Imperial Pumpking from Southern Tier Brewing Company to see me through the process.   First the meal:

Ingredients:

MEATBALLS

 2 pounds lean ground beef

 2 cups fresh bread crumbs

 2 tablespoons dried parsley

 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

 1/2 teaspoon oregano

 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

 2 eggs, beaten

 

 SAUCE

2 jars Ragu spaghetti sauce

 1 teaspoon garlic powder

 2 teaspoons salt

 1 teaspoon maple sugar

 1 bay leaf

 3/4 teaspoon dried basil

 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1.     Preheat oven to 350

2.     Combine all meatball ingredients into a large bowl.

3.     Mix with bare hands and get messy

4.     Roll into about 20 meatballs

5.     Put on baking tray

6.     Bake for 15 min until brown

7.     Add all sauce ingredients into large pot

8.     Bring to boil and simmer for 60 min

9.     Add meatballs to sauce while it simmers

10.  Serve over spaghetti

The sugar is added to the sauce to cut the acidity of the tomatoes.  I substituted maple sugar in order to better complement my beer which is brewed with caramel malts that give this beer a maple syrup flavor.  Maple meatballs sounds weird but, believe me, they taste great. 

Imperial Pumpking:

The Pumpking is simply the best pumpkin ale available in the New York area. I’ve tried many brands, but Southern Tier has the right recipe.  It has the sweet aroma of spiced pumpkin with a little bitter bite.  This one, two punch is enough to satisfy any craft beer fan. All this flavor covers the 8.6% ABV pretty well.

At the last minute we opted to go with the meatball hero instead of over pasta. First bite: hearty with just a touch of oregano coming through.  I can’t say that I taste the maple sugar but I feel better knowing it’s in there.