Tags
beef meatball, classic meatball, cocktail sausages, cranberry meatball sauce, cranberry sauce, crockpot meatball, meatball, meatball sauce recipe, pork meatball, turkey meatball, veal meatball
My friend and her mother passed down to me the most amazing meatball sauce recipe that we tried and used for this party – simply put, this dish was the most popular of all the foods we put out for Mei’s first birthday extravaganza! You would be silly not to try this for your next event or just an easy weeknight meal.
Although credit where credit is due, I wouldn’t be able to sing this recipe it’s praises without my friend and her mother. This recipe works great for cocktail sausages or meatballs, by the way, or anything else in that category. The list of ingredients seems inadequately simple and possibly distasteful, but it is tangy, tart, sweet and delicious and worth every bite!
I have also left you with my meatball recipe, it’s a classic to which I included grated mozzarella cheese that is not included in the ingredient list. Add or opt out of any of the ingredients for the meatballs themselves and make them uniquely yours but keep the sauce! Enjoy!
Ingredients for Classic Meatballs:
- 20 oz ground beef, turkey, pork or veal or a combination
- 1-1/4 C loosely packed flat leaf parsley leaves, minced
- 2 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp crushed red chile flakes
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1/4 tsp ground allspice
- 6 oz bread crumbs (ie Panko) or finely ground stale white bread
- salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
- 2/3 C grated cheese (optional)
- 3 eggs, lightly beaten
- 2 TBS milk
Combine all the ingredients in a bowl large enough to allow you to mix them by hand. Mix until all the ingredients are thoroughly combined then roll tablespoon portions into balls and set on a a plate to chill in the fridge for one hour.
Brown the meatballs in a skillet in batches then transfer to the oven to cook through at 300F or place in a medium sized crockpot, covering them with the sauce and leaving them to cook through for a couple of hours on medium heat.
Ingredients for Amazing Sauce:
- one 14 oz can of jellied cranberry sauce
- 1 C ketchup
- 3 TBS of brown sugar
Combine all of the ingredients in a medium saucepan, warming them and whisking leisurely until completely combined. Pour over the meatballs, warming as necessary. The sauce can also be refrigerated until you need to use it but will require re-warming.
*I doubled this recipe for about 50 meatballs that fit into a medium crockpot.