Cocktail Meatballs
Serves 4 as an appetizer
Ingredients
Meatballs
- ¼ cup panko breadcrumbs
- 3 Tbsp heavy cream or whole milk
- 1 egg
- ½ of a medium onion grated
- 3 cloves of garlic finely grated
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- Freshly cracked black pepper to taste
- ¼ tsp ground allspice
- ¼ tsp ground coriander
- ⅛ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
- ½ pound ground beef 80/20
- ½ pound ground pork
Sauce
- Olive oil for drizzling
- 2 ½ Tbsp tomato paste
- 1 cup chicken stock homemade or store bought
- ⅓ cup cherry spread/jam I like Dalmatia brand
- 1 Tbsp sherry vinegar
- 1 Tbsp maple syrup
- 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- Kosher salt and pepper to taste
- 1 Tbsp soy sauce
- Finely sliced chives for garnish
- Toothpicks for serving
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, mix panko, cream, egg, onion, garlic, salt, pepper, allspice, coriander and nutmeg until combined. Add in beef and pork and mix until just combined. Try not to over-mix!
- Using oiled hands, form meat mix into small meatballs about a tablespoon each.
- Coat the bottom of a large skillet* over medium heat with olive oil and heat until hot.
- Add in meatballs and sear until golden on all sides, about 4-6 minutes total.
- Turn off the heat and remove the meatballs from the pan (they will not be fully cooked at this point). Pour off all but about 1 Tbsp of fat.
- Return pan to medium-low heat, add in tomato paste, and cook, stirring, until darkened a bit, about 1-2 minutes.
- Stir in chicken stock, jam, vinegar, maple syrup, and Worcestershire sauce. Whisk until the jam melts into the sauce. Bring to a simmer and add meatballs and any juices back into the pan. Simmer until meatballs are cooked through and the sauce has thickened about 6-8 minutes.
- Stir in soy sauce and season with salt and pepper if needed.
- Serve topped with chives and toothpicks on the side for easy eating.
Video
Notes
*Be sure to use a nonreactive pan, such as stainless steel, enamel-coated or non-stick. The tomato-y, vinegar-y sauce will react with aluminum or cast iron pans and give a weird taste!
**If you want to double this recipe, I recommend reducing the sauce halfway before adding the meatballs back in. There will be more sauce and the meatballs don’t need to cook as long as the sauce will need to be reduced.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
These were the best meatballs I’ve ever made. I let them hang out in a mini crockpot for awhile and they got even more tender. Delish!
Made this tonight and it was delicious! The flavor was amazing, my husband and I had a hard time leaving some for leftovers for dinner tomorrow. We are planning to finish them over some rice. Only thing I was missing was a little bit of spice, any suggestion to add a subtle kick? Even without it, these were 5 stars! Will be making again.