Salmon Meatballs with Caper Dill Tarter Sauce

I know what you are probably thinking, Salmon Meatballs? What? Why? But just trust me they are a delicious and creative way to get more healthy salmon into your family’s meals. Perhaps the best aspect of my Salmon Meatballs with Caper Dill Tarter Sauce (beyond their deliciousness, of course) is that they are completely Grain & Gluten-Free, Low-Carb and Paleo, Friendly! Even if you’re in the midst of doing a 21-Day Sugar Detox, these are totally legal!

And while I was using my best personal restraint to not eat them all right away since I needed to take photos for this post, I also found out that not only are the wonderful enjoyed hot, they are equally delicious as at room temp or chilled. So, if you can resist eating the whole batch, save a few for lunch they would even be good served on a salad!

To make these meatballs you’ll need fresh wild caught salmon. Notice the WILD CAUGHT part, it’s the most important part about this being a deliciously healthy dish. In fact whenever buying any seafood, always choose wild caught and pass if the only option is farm raised.

Why Choose Wild-Caught versus Farmed Seafood?

• Salmon, shrimp, cod, sea bass, and various other types of fish are packed with omega-3 fatty acids, rich in various types of nutrients, and high in protein. But, depending on where your fish comes from, you might be getting a side of antibiotics or GMOs that you’re unaware of.
• Farm-raised fish are commercially raised in tanks, enclosures, and controlled pens in lakes, ponds, rivers, and oceans. Due to their compact living situations and GMO feed, they tend to have more diseases, toxins, artificial dyes, and antibiotics than compared to their wild-caught counterparts.
• Wild-caught fish tend to be higher in omega-3 fatty acids and protein and contain very low levels of disease. They are free from antibiotics, pesticides, and artificial dyes, and they are obviously free to roam about the ocean and find their own food. While mercury can be an issue with wild-caught fish, it can be just as much of an issue with fish that are farm raised in the ocean.
• While fish farming’s main purpose was to meet the increased demand for fish, keep the costs low, and decrease the levels of mercury, the added antibiotics, pesticides, herbicides, GMO feed, and artificial dyes—not to mention the harmful effects on the environment—outweigh all the good.

No everyone will be able to find ground wild caught salmon and that’s ok! Just take your salmon fillet, remove the skin and finely chop up your salmon. You can use a knife or pulse chunks of salmon in your food processor, just don’t make it a complete puree, be sure there is some texture remaining.

Salmon Meatballs with Caper Dill Tarter Sauce

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Servings: 16 meatballs

Ingredients

• 1 pound wild caught salmon ground or finely minced
• 2-3 tablespoons cassava flour or other grain/gluten-free flour
• 2 tablespoons Red onion
• 2 tablespoons Fresh Chives, chopped or dried
• 1 teaspoon Fresh Dill, chopped or dried
• 1 clove Garlic
• 1 teaspoon worcestershire sauce
• 3/4 teaspoon Sea Salt
• 1/4 teaspoon Black Pepper
• 1 large eggs

Caper Dill Tarter Sauce

• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons Red onion
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped dill pickles
• 2 tablespoons capers with juice
• 1/2 teaspoon Fresh Dill, chopped
• 1 teaspoon prepared horseradish
• 1 pinch Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
• 1 teaspoon lemon, juiced
• 1 pinch Sea Salt to taste
• 1 pinch Black Pepper to taste

Instructions

• In a small bowl, combine ingredients for the Caper Dill Tarter Sauce and chill in the refrigerator until ready to use. The tarter sauce will keep up to a week in the refrigerator.
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F and line a small sided baking pan with parchment paper.
• Combine all the meat ball ingredients together in a large bowl. Mixing well to make sure all the ingredients are throughly incorporated. I recommend starting out with 2 tablespoons of cassava flour and seeing what the texture is before adding the additional 1 tablespoon. You want the meatballs to hold together but not be stiff.
• Roll roughly 2 tablespoons of the mixture into 16 balls, arrange on your parchment lined baking pan. (it's ok if they touch)
• Bake for 25 minutes or until cooked through as desired.
• Remove from the oven and serve with Caper Dill Tarter Sauce.

Notes

If you are doing a 21 DSD or can't have cassava, almond flour would work great as a substitute.

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