Recipe: Tropical Takis Barbecue Meatballs

Jackie Alpers is an internationally recognized professional food photographer, and the author of four cookbooks. Visit her website at https://www.jackiealpers.com and follow her at https://www.sonorancorner.jackiealpers.com for more recipes from her home in the Sonoran Desert.

 

Even if you can’t make it to the beach for the holidays, these tropical themed mini meatballs resembling palm-trees will make your life warm and sunny. Crank up the heat, throw on a kaftan, put on some tiki music and vibe out. 

Passion fruits are grown in tropical regions, mostly in South America. Their sweet and sour profile adds extra zing to the barbecue sauce. The intensely spicy Takis, which were invented in Mexico in 1999, round out these warm and festive flavor bombs with an extra and addictive kick.

 

The Silicone Kitchen Tools Used

The Silicone Kitchen Air Fryer Liner

The Silicone Kitchen Mini Silicone Baking Cups 

 

Ingredients

12 mini (½-ounce) size frozen meatballs, any variety

1 cup barbecue sauce, preferably Sweet Baby Ray’s, warmed  

1 tablespoon passion fruit syrup 

Dash of Frank’s Red Hot to taste 

12 Takis Fuego Rolls or Takis Nitro Rolls tortilla chips 

12 Flat-leaf parsley sprigs

 

Instructions

Preheat the air fryer to 375°F. Using The Silicone Kitchen Air Fryer Liner, cook the meatballs for 12-15 minutes, shaking the basket frequently until they are well browned and heated throughout.

Combine the barbecue sauce, passion fruit syrup and hot sauce (if using), into a small, deep bowl. Spear each meatball with a Takis chip, then dip the warm meatballs in the sauce and swirl until well coated. Set them inside individual Silicone Mini Baking Cups, then insert a parsley sprig into the open end of each Taki.

Serve immediately with additional warm barbecue sauce on the side for dipping.