These are great cocktail meatballs! I was on the hunt for a fantastic cocktail meatball for our News Year’s party. Criteria: one bite so you can stick with a toothpick, sweet & savory, with some sort of glaze.
Emeril came through when I found his recipe on FoodNetwork.com. To be honest, it was one of the few recipes I found quickly that sounded really appetizing. I did though, just find out that my Kitchen Aid mixer has a recipe in its recipe booklet that is similar, but calls for a cup of strong coffee in the sauce.
I tripled the below recipe since this was for a big group (yes I had 60+ meatballs) and used 1/3 ground pork for flavor. In terms of seasonings, everything from your cabinet is pretty much in here, but it’s because he wants you to use his “Emeril’s Essence.” Rather than have you make this essence (to set aside and only use 1/2 teaspoon of), I’ve just added a bit of each in my recipe. I also baked the meatballs and then put them in the crock pot with the sauce for a few hours instead of frying with oil and butter as he would.
{Adapted from Emeril Lagasse’s Cocktail Meatballs}
Cocktail Meatballs yields 24- 30 meatballs
- 1/2 pound ground beef
- 1/2 pound ground pork {You can use all beef just as easily}
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
- 1/2 cup finely chopped yellow onion
- 1/4 cup fine dry bread crumbs {I used Italian because they were on hand}
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 2 teaspoons Creole mustard
- 1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- a few pinches cayenne {more or less depending if you want heat}
- 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1/4 teaspoon hot red pepper sauce {hot sauce}
- non-stick olive oil spray
Sauce
- 1 cup ketchup
- 1/2 cup grated yellow onion
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon salt
Preheat the oven to 375 ° F.
In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients for the meatballs, except the non-stick spray…obviously. ; )
Mix well with your hands. Form into individual meatballs, about 1-inch in diameter. Spray a baking sheet covered in tinfoil with olive oil spray and place meatballs on the sheet. Spray the meatballs with some olive oil so they crisp up just a little (without drying out) while in the oven. Bake for 20 minutes. Put on low broil at the end if needed. {The meatballs should brown on the tops so they stay together in the crock pot.} You may have some grease to drain from the pan once they finish cooking in the oven.
Make the sauce by combining all the ingredients in a medium bowl, whisking to dissolve the sugar and combine. Adjust the seasoning, to taste. While the meatballs are baking, heat the sauce on medium-low heat in a sauce pan on the stove for at least 10 minutes. Pour the sauce over the meatballs in a crock pot on low and let cook for 2-3 hours, stirring carefully occasionally.
* Time saving method: If you don’t have time for the crock pot, pour the sauce over the meatballs on the baking sheet after the first 20 minutes. Bake for 15 more minutes until they have a nice glaze from the sauce.
Do you have a great family cocktail meatball recipe?
This is the first I’ve tried!
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I actually got to try these first hand and they were amazing!! So amazing that i almost ate more than i drank on NYE!!! Thank you to the best dinner host in the world!!!
Those looks so good….now I’m hungry….lol.