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Home » Mexican » Mexican Albondigas en Chipotle

Mexican Albondigas en Chipotle

By Hank Shaw on January 15, 2015, Updated June 9, 2020 - 23 Comments

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4.86 from 14 votes
A plate of albondigas al chipotle
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A plate of albondigas al chipotle
Photo by Holly A. Heyser

Given how many meatballs I eat, it was inevitable that I would come up with a good albondigas recipe. What can I say? I love meatballs. Anyone who doesn’t lacks some critical gene required to be a good human, I suspect.

Every culture in the world makes some kind of meatball, and those cultures that are vegetarian make meatless meatball-like orbs. Meatballs are universal. They are little balls of comfort.

I’ve made this particular albondigas recipe with venison, duck, and wild pork. Any meat will do. Bear? Sure. Beef or pork? Of course. Skip the muskrat, though. This recipe comes together in an hour or so, making it easy enough to do on a work night. Kids love making meatballs, too, so shanghai them into it.

I mostly like eating these with rice while watching football or nature shows, but chipotle meatballs make a damn good party appetizer. I’d like to see a duel between chipotle meatballs and Swedish meatballs. Both awesome, both classic party fare, just very different.

OK, I am rambling. Make these meatballs! Seriously. Make them.

One good tip is to double the batch and, before you sauce your meatballs but after you’ve browned them, set them on a baking sheet or plate in the freezer until they are solid, then keep your albondigas in a freezer bag. That way you can pull out meatballs whenever the mood strikes you. Just reheat in the sauce of your choice, ideally this chipotle sauce.

Note that there is one other common way to eat albondigas, which is as a soup. Those meatballs are much smaller.

albondigas al chipotle recipe
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4.86 from 14 votes

Mexican Albondigas en Chipotle

Clearly, while I tagged this a venison recipe pretty much any ground meat will work here. Just make sure it has been ground with some fat or your meatballs will be sad and dry. Other than that, this is a dead-easy recipe. Only thing even remotely challenging is finding the chipotles in adobo, but every Latin market in America sells it, as do most larger supermarkets. In a pinch, you could buy chipotles in adobo online.
Prep Time25 mins
Cook Time35 mins
Total Time1 hr
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Mexican
Servings: 4 people
Calories: 653kcal
Author: Hank Shaw

Ingredients

MEATBALLS

  • 2 pounds ground venison, duck, or other meat
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 to 2 tablespoons dried mint
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 cup breadcrumbs
  • 2 teaspoons ground cumin
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper
  • Bacon fat, lard, or oil for frying

SAUCE

  • 2 tablespoons lard, bacon fat or oil
  • 1 onion, minced
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 cups tomato puree
  • 2 cups broth, chicken, duck, venison, whatever
  • 3 to 6 chipotles in adobo, chopped
  • 2 teaspoons ground cumin
  • 2 teaspoons dried oregano
  • Salt to taste

Instructions

  • Put all the meatball ingredients together in a large bowl. Mix with your very clean hands until the mixture comes together. Don't overwork the mix or the meatballs will get tough. Roll into meatballs of whatever size you want. I like to make them by the tablespoon. If you have the time, let the meatballs sit in the fridge for up to an hour; this helps them stay together.
  • Brown the meatballs in the bacon fat, lard, or oil. Set aside once browned.
  • If you browned the meatballs in a large enough pan to hold all of them, drain all but about 2 tablespoons of the fat and keep using that pan. Otherwise, get a pot or pan large enough to hold all the meatballs and heat 2 tablespoons of fat in it. Cook the onions in this until soft and browned at the edges, about 10 minutes. Stir from time to time. Add the garlic and cook another minute.
  • Add the spices, chipotles, broth and tomato and mix well. Nestle the meatballs into the sauce and bring to a simmer. Simmer for about 20 to 30 minutes, until the meatballs are cooked through. Eat with rice or by themselves as an appetizer.

Notes

Serve this with rice, or by itself as an appetizer.

Nutrition

Calories: 653kcal | Carbohydrates: 41g | Protein: 62g | Fat: 27g | Saturated Fat: 13g | Cholesterol: 278mg | Sodium: 1833mg | Potassium: 1621mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 1593IU | Vitamin C: 18mg | Calcium: 170mg | Iron: 13mg
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Filed Under: Appetizers and Snacks, Featured, Mexican, Recipe, Venison, Wild Game

Avatar for Hank Shaw

Hank Shaw

Hey there. Welcome to Hunter Angler Gardener Cook, the internet's largest source of recipes and know-how for wild foods. I am a chef, author, and yes, hunter, angler, gardener, forager and cook. Follow me on Instagram and on Facebook.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Avatar for Stew JohnstoneStew Johnstone says

    December 30, 2021 at 4:34 am

    What meat to fat ratio would you suggest for this recipe? I see that you usually go 3:1 down to 4:1 with your other meatballs. Wasn’t sure if there was one that would be better suited or more appropriate for this style, or if it is a “universal truth” sort of situation.

    Reply
  2. Avatar for JACKJACK says

    August 16, 2021 at 8:40 am

    CAN I USE SNAPPING TURTLE AND DEEP FRY THE MEATBALLS?

    Reply
    • Avatar for Hank ShawHank Shaw says

      August 16, 2021 at 8:54 am

      Jack: Sure.

      Reply
  3. Avatar for TravisTravis says

    July 8, 2020 at 4:13 pm

    My family and I love this recipe. We usually go to the lower end with the volume of the chipotles in adobo due to my young children not being able to tolerate the spice. We have this with rice multiple times every winter.

    Reply
  4. Avatar for JohnJohn says

    January 22, 2020 at 4:56 am

    I made these once and instantly they’ve become a staple in our home. Absolutely delicious. One thing I do is to cook the meatballs in a 425 oven for 25 mins then simmer them because I make extra meatballs and they’ve always turned out amazing.

    Reply
  5. Avatar for LukeLuke says

    December 9, 2019 at 6:19 pm

    Made these tonight to sample first and determine how gamey they would be before making them for a party. Made a combination of wild goat/wild pig/domestic pig fat and then venison/wild pig/domestic pig fat. Tasted amazing and my other half who is very sensitive to gaminess enjoyed them very much!

    Reply
  6. Avatar for Tim HenryTim Henry says

    January 8, 2019 at 8:20 pm

    Made these for a progressive holiday dinner party, and they were a big hit. Will definitely be making these again!

    Reply
  7. Avatar for StephansuchStephansuch says

    December 9, 2018 at 12:53 am

    Another winning recipe. Everyone at the party tonight enjoyed as far as I could tell. There is a LOT of cumin and garlic in here, but the flavours are still harmonious. I used my gamey-er ground mule, and I couldn’t taste anything unpleasant. I really enjoy your fine-tuned recipes because they mask “gamey” so well. I might not make this again, but that would only be due to a personal preference, a lack of fondness for cumin, so I will still give it 5 well deserved stars!

    Reply
  8. Avatar for ChristineChristine says

    May 21, 2018 at 7:50 am

    Hi Hank,
    I’ve made these meatballs several times with ground deer. Absolutely delicious! Made some into Mexican meatball soup – wonderful flavours.
    You should write a cookbook dedicated to meatballs, we just love them.

    Christine

    Reply
  9. Avatar for JaredJared says

    September 30, 2017 at 2:00 pm

    I made a double batch, it’s going to take forever to fry them. Can I bake them off on a sheet pan?

    Reply
    • Avatar for Hank ShawHank Shaw says

      October 3, 2017 at 8:16 am

      Jared: You can. But they’re better fried in lard. 😉

      Reply
  10. Avatar for BradBrad says

    February 13, 2016 at 5:20 pm

    My wife and I gave this a whirl for a pot-luck. I used some of the ground elk I harvested during the Sept 2014 rut (in Alberta). AMAZING flavours! There were a number of non-hunters at the pot luck who had never tried wild game and loved these. After browning the balls I simmered them in a crock-pot which helped with transport and re-heating once at the party…worked really well. All of the your recipes that we have tried have been winners. Please keep doing your thing!

    Reply
  11. Avatar for JulieJulie says

    September 16, 2015 at 8:54 am

    Question: I’ve never used ground duck before. Have you ever combined the duck with the venison? What was the result? Thanks!

    Reply
    • Avatar for Hank ShawHank Shaw says

      September 16, 2015 at 8:56 am

      Julie: It’ll work fine. Go for it!

      Reply
  12. Avatar for JodyJody says

    February 3, 2015 at 8:22 am

    I made my own tomato puree yesterday and then made these with ground venison. It was superb! Thank you!

    Reply
  13. Avatar for PeterPeter says

    January 23, 2015 at 10:33 am

    I plan to make these soon with axis burger (ground with smoked bacon!). Thanks for the good recipes.

    Reply
  14. Avatar for AlmaAlma says

    January 19, 2015 at 7:13 pm

    I love albóndigas. You can use rice instead of bread crumbs (for the gluten intolerant out there). That’s how my mother does it anyway.

    Reply
  15. Avatar for TeaTea says

    January 18, 2015 at 3:44 pm

    I enjoy cooking all types of food and I usually take liberties with the recipes I try, but I stuck with the recipe on this one even when I wasn’t so sure about the mint. We were pleasantly surprised with the results. So good – Thank you!

    Reply
  16. Avatar for Craig EarnshawCraig Earnshaw says

    January 18, 2015 at 3:12 pm

    Made these for supper this evening, however with mix of roughly 45% venison / 45% cooking chorizo / 10% smoked streaky bacon, all through the mincer together to combine. As chipotles in adobo aren’t easy to find here in the UK I used dried chipotle that I’d soaked in water, and used the soaking water in place of half the stock. Was very pleased with the results, thanks for the inspiration Hank!

    Reply
  17. Avatar for Jack Lea MasonJack Lea Mason says

    January 17, 2015 at 1:00 pm

    I make these often but usually half beef and pork. Instead of bread crumbs I use crushed corn chips. One other great binder for lean ground meat is buckwheat groats.

    Reply
  18. Avatar for Coco in the KitchenCoco in the Kitchen says

    January 15, 2015 at 4:27 pm

    Panade, I like it, sounds French.
    I always learn something from you.

    Reply
  19. Avatar for Hank ShawHank Shaw says

    January 15, 2015 at 1:34 pm

    Sara: Skip the eggs and use about 4 or 5 slices of bread (crusts removed), torn to pieces and soaked in milk. This is a panade and will keep the meatballs together.

    Reply
  20. Avatar for Sara ThompsonSara Thompson says

    January 15, 2015 at 1:27 pm

    I pretty much avoid meatballs because I can’t eat eggs. So any suggestions as to what I can use in place of the eggs?

    Reply

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Hi, my name is Hank Shaw. I am a James Beard Award-winning author and chef and I focus my energies on wild foods: Foraging, fishing, hunting. I write cookbooks as well as this website, have a website dedicated to the intersection of food and nature, and do a podcast, too. If it’s wild game, fish, or edible wild plants and mushrooms, you’ll find it here. Hope you enjoy the site!

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