Mostaccioli Pasta with Buffalo Meatballs in Red Sauce

Richard La Fortune made this delicious recipe for Bison Meatballs to serve to my friends a few years ago. My first experiment with them went well. They were cooked in olive oil in a pan.

Cook the pasta according to the package. Mostaciolli is a noodle frequently used in baked dishes.

I made an easy tomato sauce with fresh mushrooms and some white onion and basil. Use your own favorite sauce recipe, while the meatballs are baking or before hand.

This version and my second time around combined two recipes. This time I baked the meatballs in the oven. The original recipe I adapted had only the basic ingredients in Recipe #1

Bison Meat Balls Ingredient List 

1 lb. ground bison

1/2 medium onion, finely diced

1/2 cup breadcrumbs

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. black pepper

1 tsp. dried basil

1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

Richard’s recipe list included all-of-the above ingredients plus:

1-2 Cloves of garlic minced

3 chopped scallions

1 egg

1 Tablespoon of horseradish

1 spoonful of prepared mustard

a “squirt of ketchup”

3 tablespoons of milk

Adding all of the ingredients together.  This method made the Bison Meatballs were juicy, tender and flavorful – just delicious – another culinary delight by Richard.

Baked Method From Recipe#1

“Created by: Chef Forrest D. Waldo, II C.E.C.

Pre-

Heat oven to 350°F. 

In a large bowl, add all ingredients and mix well with your hands. 
Form into walnut sized balls and place on oiled cookie tray, careful not to overcrowd and let the meatballs touch. 
Bake in oven 15minutes or until done.” Makes 16 + meatballs.

Locally Bison meat can be found at Byerly’s Supermarket and until recently at Cub Foods on Lake Street in Minneapolis. Bison does not have a gamey taste. Some people add beef to the mix, but this recipe doesn’t require adding fatty meat. Besides the beef would change the flavor! Usually I make up Bison burgers and freeze them. However, with a little effort, this bison meatball recipe was a perfect combination with mostaccioli for me. bison is low in fat another plus for the cholesterol numbers.

★★★★★★

Thanks for stopping by the kitchen. I’ll be sharing this over at Fiesta Friday #109 today with all the cooks from around the planet. Join us! Todays’ co-hosts this week are Josette @ thebrookcook and Lily @ little sweet baker with our leader Angie of The Novice Gardner.