Asian Cocktail Meatballs [DF]

These Asian cocktail meatballs just the right amount of sweet and savory, sure to please your guests!

I was brainstorming what I can do with the rest of a bag of cranberries after I made some mulled wine (recipe to come!). I thought I wanted to make some sort of dip, or appetizer. Then I open my fridge to see the gochujang, thought it would be great to make a cocktail meatball inspired by the inside of an Asian dumpling! With ground pork, ground beef, garlic, ginger and the works, I knew that I hit the recipe on the money when even the day after preparing the meatballs, my fridge smelled like Korean food.

I have had crockpot meatballs in almost every setting. Weddings, funerals, baby showers, and pretty much any other kind of get together or party there is to have. I know the weird ketchup and grape jelly trick and I love the tacky texture that glazes the meatballs, and I was looking for that same mouthfeel. So I decided to try my hand out with a cranberry glaze. The cranberries and gochujang together produce this savory and tangy feeling that barbecue sauce often tickles the taste buds! I know some people also don’t like green onions. But I think the brightness of the onion really cuts the sweetness so don’t leave them out as a garnish!

Local Spotlight: I picked up the pork and beef from the new Farm Stand inside of the Mother Road Market. It’s a storefront that carries things from vendors from the Tulsa Farmers Market every day of the week. My eggs are from a couple weeks ago from the actual farmers market!

I hope that you enjoy this new twist on a favorite just as much as we enjoyed them.

xxHillary

Print

Asian Cocktail Meatballs [DF]

These Asian cocktail meatballs just the right amount of sweet and savory, sure to please your guests!

Course Appetizer

Keyword asian, korean, meatballs, party

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes

Total Time 1 hour

Servings 30 meatballs

Ingredients

Cranberry Sauce:

• 1 C. fresh cranberries
• 3/4 C. water
• 1/4 C. honey
• 1/8 C. brown sugar packed
• 1 t. gochujang
• 2 T. soy sauce
• 1 t. rice vinegar

Meatballs:

• 1 lb. pork
• 1/2 lb. ground beef
• 3 T. finely minced onion
• 1 t. finely minced garlic
• 1 t. finely minced ginger
• 1/2 t. onion powder
• 1/4 t. garlic powder
• 1 t. black pepper
• 1/2 t. salt
• 1/2 t. sesame oil
• 2 eggs
• 1 C. panko
• 2 t. sesame seeds
• 5 green onions

Instructions

Meatballs:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Combine all ingredients in a bowl until well combined.
3. Scoop out into meatballs with a cookie scoop or spoons onto a cookie sheet or a rack.
4. Bake for 30-40 minutes.

Sauce:

1. Combine cranberries, water and honey in a saucepan on medium low heat for 5 minutes, until most of the cranberries have popped.
2. Stir in brown sugar until dissolved.
3. Turn off heat and mix in gochujang, soy sauce and rice vinegar.
4. Blend all ingredients together with an immersion blender until smooth.
5. Set aside.

Assembly:

1. Heat meatballs in crock pot or oven with sauce poured on top until heated through and serve.
2. Garnish with sesame seeds and thinly sliced green onions.
3. #enJOY!