Description
Grape jelly meatballs simmer in a sweet and tangy sauce, creating an irresistible party favorite. Hearty beef blends perfectly with classic comfort flavors, promising a crowd-pleasing dish you’ll crave again and again.
Ingredients
Scale
Meat:
- 2 lbs ground beef
- 1 lb ground pork
Sauce Ingredients:
- 1 cup grape jelly
- 1 cup barbecue sauce
- 2 tbsp worcestershire sauce
Additional Ingredients:
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 cup breadcrumbs
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 2 tbsp olive oil
Instructions
- In a spacious mixing bowl, combine ground beef and ground pork, creating a harmonious meat blend that ensures rich flavor and tender texture.
- Incorporate finely chopped onion, minced garlic, breadcrumbs, egg, salt, and black pepper into the meat mixture, gently folding ingredients until evenly distributed without overmixing.
- Shape the meat mixture into uniform, bite-sized meatballs, approximately 1-1.5 inches in diameter, ensuring consistent cooking.
- Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat, carefully brown meatballs on all sides for 6-8 minutes, developing a delectable caramelized exterior.
- While meatballs are browning, whisk together grape jelly, barbecue sauce, and Worcestershire sauce in the slow cooker, creating a glossy, tangy coating.
- Transfer browned meatballs into the slow cooker, gently nestling them into the sauce to ensure complete coverage.
- Cover and cook on low setting for 3-4 hours, allowing flavors to meld and meatballs to become exceptionally tender and infused with sweet and savory sauce.
- Occasionally stir meatballs during cooking to guarantee even sauce distribution and prevent sticking.
- Once cooking is complete, meatballs will be heated through and sauce will have thickened, creating a luscious, sticky glaze.
- Serve hot directly from the slow cooker, perfect as an appetizer or main course, with toothpicks for easy serving.
Notes
- Mix meat types carefully to balance fat content and create more complex flavor profile.
- Use fresh breadcrumbs instead of dried for lighter, more tender meatball texture.
- Choose high-quality grape jelly with minimal added sugars for better sauce consistency.
- Avoid overmixing meat to prevent dense, tough meatballs that can become rubbery during slow cooking.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 3-4 hours
- Category: Lunch, Dinner, Appetizer, Snacks
- Method: Slow Cooking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 6
- Calories: 454
- Sugar: 24 g
- Sodium: 682 mg
- Fat: 27 g
- Saturated Fat: 10 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 15 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 22 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 26 g
- Cholesterol: 90 mg