The Ingredient You Can't Skip For Perfect Slow Cooker Meatballs
Slow cooker meatballs are the perfect appetizer for any party situation, but sometimes the accompanying sauce comes out too thin. And a runny sauce makes an already messy food even more prone to dripping everywhere, from slow cooker to plate to mouth. Luckily, just a little bit of one unusual ingredient can thicken things up with no problem: tapioca.
Adding a small amount of quick-cooking tapioca to a slow cooker meatball sauce will guarantee a proper texture for hours. Tapioca is a starch derived from the fibrous roots of the cassava plant. Originally from South America, this cheap source of carbs has become a staple crop in many tropical countries because of how easily it grows in hot environments.
If you're worried that this trick will leave your meatballs tasting like a meaty tapioca pudding, don't. On its own, tapioca has a mild, almost nonexistent flavor, which is what gives it great versatility as a starch. Whatever taste you might think the tapioca has will be easily overpowered by the strong savory notes of any meatball recipe.
How to use tapioca in slow cooker meatballs
Think of tapioca starch as a cornstarch alternative. However, unlike cornstarch, tapioca won't break down a few hours after cooking, so your sauce will remain appropriately thick. Tapioca starch is not the same thing as tapioca flour or cassava flour, although either of those could also be used as a thickening agent for a slow cooker meatball sauce.
Using tapioca in your slow cooker meatballs is as simple as adding some to the sauce before mixing all ingredients together. However, tapioca isn't just useful for thickening up your sauce. It can also go in the meatballs themselves.
The best meatballs need some kind of binding agent to hold their shape and moisture while cooking. This can often be any combination of eggs, grated cheese, or breadcrumbs, but tapioca would also work. Unlike common breadcrumbs, tapioca is also gluten-free, making it a crucial substitute for gluten-free meatballs, and potentially a big part of any gluten-free diet.