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Drunken Cranberry Cocktail Meatballs

Drunken Cranberry Cocktail Meatballs ~ tender meatballs in a cranberry bourbon barbecue sauce ~ oh yeah!

Prep Time
45 mins
Cook Time
45 mins
Servings: 30 meatballs
Course: Appetizer
Cuisine: American

Ingredients

for the rosemary cranberry sauce
  • 1 12 oz bag of fresh cranberries, this will make more sauce then you need for this recipe
  • 1 cup sugar
  • several sprigs of fresh rosemary
for the meatballs
  • 1/2 lb ground beef
  • 1/2 lb ground pork or veal
  • 1/4 cup bread crumbs
  • 1 egg, well beaten
  • 1/4 cup finely minced onion
  • salt and fresh cracked black pepper
  • Olive oil for browning
for the cranberry bourbon sauce
  • 1 cup rosemary cranberry sauce, recipe above, or use your favorite cranberry sauce
  • 1/4 cup barbecue sauce, your favorite
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup bourbon
  • 1 Tbsp Sriracha sauce

Instructions

    Cup of Yum
  1. First make the cranberry sauce. Put the berries, the sugar, and a cup of water in a saucepan and stir to dissolve the sugar. Add the rosemary sprigs and bring everything up to a boil. Turn down the heat and boil gently for 10 minutes. Fish out the rosemary sprigs and then let the sauce cool.
  2. To make the sauce, add all the sauce ingredients to a saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring to combine everything. Turn down the heat and cook for about 10 minutes until thickened.
  3. To make the meatballs, put all the ingredients in a large mixing bowl. I like to break up the ground meat as I add it to the bowl to make it easier to combine well. Use your clean fingertips to mix everything, just until well combined.
  4. Use a tablespoon or a small cookie scoop to form balls about 1" in diameter. Roll them in your hands until round, and then set on a plate.
  5. Coat the bottom of a skillet with olive oil and heat until hot. Brown the meatballs on all sides.
  6. Add the bourbon cranberry sauce to the skillet, and stir to cover the meatballs. Add a little bit of water if the sauce seems too thick.
  7. Cook, covered, for about 10 minutes until the meatballs are cooked through, they should read about 160F on an instant read thermometer inserted in the center. I baste the meatballs often during the cooking.
  8. Serve the meatballs hot, with the sauce.