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Cranberry Jalapeno Meatballs, the Slow-Cooker Potluck Way

Cranberry Jalapeno Meatballs

Every American holiday table has a crock of something sweet and sticky, and this is the best version of it. Jellied cranberry sauce melts into bottled chili sauce with Worcestershire, garlic, honey, and finely diced jalapeno, then the meatballs go in and glaze slowly for hours. Tart, savory, faintly hot, and impossible to walk past without taking one more.
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 3 hours 45 minutes
Total Time 4 hours
Servings: 12 People
Course: Appetizer
Cuisine: American
Calories: 330
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 2 lb frozen fully cooked beef-and-pork cocktail meatballs about 60 to 64 one-inch meatballs, no need to thaw
  • 14 oz canned jellied cranberry sauce one standard can
  • 12 oz bottled chili sauce Heinz-style sweet tomato condiment, one bottle
  • 2 medium fresh jalapenos finely diced, seeds and ribs removed for mild heat
  • 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • 2 tbsp honey or packed light brown sugar
  • 0.5 tsp salt to taste
  • 0.25 tsp black pepper freshly ground

Equipment

  • 1 4-quart slow cooker a smaller crock keeps the sauce from scorching
  • 1 Whisk
  • 1 cutting board and paring knife
  • 1 silicone spatula

Method
 

  1. Trim the stems from the jalapenos and halve them lengthwise. Scrape out the seeds and white ribs with the tip of a paring knife if you want a warm background heat rather than a sharp bite, then dice the flesh as finely as you can, about 1/8 inch. Wash your hands well afterward.
  2. Scrape the jellied cranberry sauce out of the can into the empty slow cooker insert. Add the chili sauce, Worcestershire sauce, minced garlic, honey, salt, pepper, and the diced jalapeno.
  3. Cover and heat on High for 20 minutes, then whisk hard, breaking up the block of cranberry sauce against the side of the crock until the sauce is smooth, glossy, and uniformly red. A few small lumps will melt away later.
  4. Add the frozen meatballs straight from the bag and fold them through the sauce with a silicone spatula until every one is coated. Spread them into an even layer.
  5. Cover and cook on Low for 3 to 4 hours, stirring gently twice during that time to bring the meatballs at the edges into the center. Do not finish this on High; the sugar in the cranberry sauce scorches around the rim of the crock.
  6. The meatballs are ready when they are heated through to 165 F at the center and the sauce has thickened enough to cling in a glaze when you lift one out on a spoon. If the sauce still looks thin, uncover and cook on Low another 20 to 30 minutes to let steam escape.
  7. Taste the sauce. Add a pinch more salt if it reads flat, or another teaspoon of honey if the cranberry tartness dominates. Stir once more.
  8. Switch the cooker to the Warm setting and serve directly from the crock. The meatballs will hold happily for up to 2 hours; give them a stir every half hour so the top layer stays glazed.

Notes

  • Set the cooker to Warm for the party and put out a cup of cocktail toothpicks beside it. Guests serve themselves.
  • For dinner instead of a party bite, spoon the meatballs and sauce over steamed white rice or mashed potatoes with green beans alongside.
  • Use a 4-quart slow cooker, not a 6- or 7-quart. In a big crock the sauce spreads thin and scorches at the edges.
  • Do not cook this on High the whole time. Canned cranberry sauce is high in sugar and will burn.
  • Leave the jalapeno seeds and ribs in for real heat, or scrape them out for a warm background note, which is how most people prefer it.
  • Whole-berry cranberry sauce works in place of jellied and gives a chunkier glaze.
  • Bottled chili sauce means the sweet tomato-based American condiment in the ketchup aisle, not Asian sweet chili sauce or sriracha.
  • Leftovers keep 4 days refrigerated and reheat gently in a saucepan with a splash of water. They also freeze well for 3 months.