I associate graham crackers primarily with cheesecake and after-school snacks. Traditionally, I don't associate them with meatballs, let alone ham balls, an Iowa delicacy I only learned about a few days ago.

Ham balls are pretty much what they sound like: a combination of ground ham and ground beef rolled into balls. Simple enough, but the real twist is in the crumbs, which are made not from stale or dried bread but from graham crackers. (They’re also coated in tomato and brown sugar icing. I love Iowa.) “Isn’t that really sweet?” you ask. Yes. Yes, it is. But sugar, salt, and fat taste pretty good together. I thought the nutty flavor of the graham flour would complement the meat beautifully. (I was right.)

Rather than try to make my own ham balls (that's already been done), I decided to take a cue and use graham crackers in a simple meatball recipe using a 50/50 mixture of ground beef and ground pork, plus some kosher salt, white pepper, and Worcestershire sauce. I didn't soak the crumbs in milk—the ham ball recipe didn't call for it and it didn't seem necessary since they were super fine. I mixed everything together, divided the mixture into balls, and then fried them in butter until browned and cooked through.

They were great. The graham cracker crumbs did their job, and did it well. The meatballs were juicy and tender, but held their shape as they cooked, even when rolled around in the pan with a spatula. And yes, they were a little sweet.