Slow-Cooker Glazed Cocktail Meatballs
By Matthew FairmanPublished on June 25, 2018
Time
3 to 4 hours on high, or 4 to 6 hours on low
Yield
Serves 10 to 12
Ingredients
Meatballs
22 square saltines 1 cup milk 2 pounds 85 percent lean ground beef 2 ounces Parmesan cheese, grated (1 cup)1 teaspoon garlic powder 1 teaspoon salt ½ teaspoon pepperSauce
1 cup hot pepper jelly 1 cup water ½ cup soy sauce 3 tablespoons distilled white vinegar 2 garlic cloves, minced2 tablespoons cornstarchBefore You Begin
A #60 scoop or a tablespoon measure will make quick work of portioning the meatballs. To make shaping the meatballs easier, wet your hands slightly. It's unnecessary to temp the meatballs because they will reach a food-safe temperature if cooked according to the recipe instructions. (For more information on food safety, check out this guide.)
Instructions
- For the meatballs: Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 450 degrees. Set wire rack in aluminum foil–lined rimmed baking sheet and spray rack evenly with vegetable oil spray.
- Place saltines in large zipper-lock bag, seal bag, and crush fine with rolling pin (you should end up with 1 cup). Combine saltines and milk in large bowl and let sit for 5 minutes to soften. Mash with fork until smooth paste forms.
- Add beef, Parmesan, garlic powder, salt, and pepper to saltine mixture and mix with your hands until thoroughly combined. Divide mixture into about 70 (1-tablespoon) portions. Roll portions between your slightly wet hands to form meatballs and evenly space on prepared wire rack. Roast meatballs until beginning to brown, about 15 minutes. Transfer meatballs to slow cooker.
- For the sauce: Whisk jelly, water, soy sauce, vinegar, and garlic together in bowl. Pour half of sauce (about 1½ cups) over meatballs in slow cooker. Cover and refrigerate remaining sauce until needed. Cover slow cooker and cook until meatballs are tender, 3 to 4 hours on high or 4 to 6 hours on low.
- Whisk cornstarch into reserved sauce. Microwave until sauce is bubbling and has consistency of thick jam, about 6 minutes, whisking halfway through microwaving. Add sauce to slow cooker and gently fold with rubber spatula until meatballs are thoroughly coated. Serve. (Meatballs can be held in slow cooker on low or warm setting, partially covered, for 2 to 3 hours.)
- After roasting meatballs in step 3, let meatballs cool completely. Transfer cooled meatballs to 1-gallon zipper-lock bag and refrigerate for up to 24 hours or freeze for up to 1 month. To serve, transfer meatballs to slow cooker and proceed with recipe from step
- Cooking times will not change.
to make ahead
Time
3 to 4 hours on high, or 4 to 6 hours on lowYield
Serves 10 to 12Ingredients
Meatballs
Sauce
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Meatballs
Sauce
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Meatballs
Sauce
Test Kitchen Techniques
Why This Recipe Works
For sweet, spicy, savory meatballs that would still be tender and juicy after a stint in the slow cooker, we added a panade (a paste of bread and liquid that helps meatballs stay moist). For our panade, we landed on milk for the liquid component and crushed saltines for the bread component. This combo resulted in firm yet tender meatballs. We added the panade to a mix of ground beef, grated Parmesan cheese, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Giving the cocktail meatballs a quick blast in a 450-degree oven before placing them in the slow cooker rendered their excess fat and created flavorful browning without tedious batch frying on the stovetop. For the sweet and sour sauce, we relied on a potent, easy stir-together mixture of hot pepper jelly, soy sauce, white vinegar, and garlic. After a series of tests, we realized we could put this mixture to work in two ways: as a slow-cooker braising liquid and as a cornstarch-thickened glaze for the finished meatballs.
Before You Begin
A #60 scoop or a tablespoon measure will make quick work of portioning the meatballs. To make shaping the meatballs easier, wet your hands slightly. It's unnecessary to temp the meatballs because they will reach a food-safe temperature if cooked according to the recipe instructions. (For more information on food safety, check out this guide.)
Instructions
- For the meatballs: Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 450 degrees. Set wire rack in aluminum foil–lined rimmed baking sheet and spray rack evenly with vegetable oil spray.
- Place saltines in large zipper-lock bag, seal bag, and crush fine with rolling pin (you should end up with 1 cup). Combine saltines and milk in large bowl and let sit for 5 minutes to soften. Mash with fork until smooth paste forms.
- Add beef, Parmesan, garlic powder, salt, and pepper to saltine mixture and mix with your hands until thoroughly combined. Divide mixture into about 70 (1-tablespoon) portions. Roll portions between your slightly wet hands to form meatballs and evenly space on prepared wire rack. Roast meatballs until beginning to brown, about 15 minutes. Transfer meatballs to slow cooker.
- For the sauce: Whisk jelly, water, soy sauce, vinegar, and garlic together in bowl. Pour half of sauce (about 1½ cups) over meatballs in slow cooker. Cover and refrigerate remaining sauce until needed. Cover slow cooker and cook until meatballs are tender, 3 to 4 hours on high or 4 to 6 hours on low.
- Whisk cornstarch into reserved sauce. Microwave until sauce is bubbling and has consistency of thick jam, about 6 minutes, whisking halfway through microwaving. Add sauce to slow cooker and gently fold with rubber spatula until meatballs are thoroughly coated. Serve. (Meatballs can be held in slow cooker on low or warm setting, partially covered, for 2 to 3 hours.)
- After roasting meatballs in step 3, let meatballs cool completely. Transfer cooled meatballs to 1-gallon zipper-lock bag and refrigerate for up to 24 hours or freeze for up to 1 month. To serve, transfer meatballs to slow cooker and proceed with recipe from step
- Cooking times will not change.
to make ahead
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