Cocktail Meatballs / Koktel Ćufte

During my senior year of high school, I joined the Cooking Club. I don’t remember much about the kinds of recipes we learned, but I do remember our last meeting vividly. The teacher brought in a selection of dishes, including what she called her Cocktail Meatballs. As soon as I tried them, I was fascinated.

The teacher, whose name now escapes me, went on to tell me how for her parties she makes very large batches of these meatballs and they would all be gone by the end of the night. I wrote down the simple 3 ingredient recipe and have been making them ever since. All they require is chili sauce, grape jelly (yes you read that right), and meatballs.

My reaction at first to combining chili sauce and grape jelly was one of surprise. I couldn’t imagine that tasting good to be honest, especially coming from being raised on cuisine that did not mix sweet and savory.

These meatballs are tangy, sweet, and savory all at the same time. And not only are they delicious, but they are also effortless. Perfect for any get together or party.

Cocktail Meatballs/Koktel Ćufte

Recipe by The Balkan HostessCourse: AppetizersCuisine: American
Servings

4

servings
Prep time

5

minutes
Cooking Time

4-5

hours

Ingredients

  • 1 12oz bottle of Heinz Chili Sauce

  • Half of 8 oz jar of grape jelly

  • 1 3lb bag of frozen meatballs.

Directions

  • In the bowl of a slow cooker, pour in the chili sauce and spoon in half a jar of grape jelly. Rinse out the chili sauce bottle with water and pour that into the bowl as well (fill the bottle half way). Using a whisk, mix the sauce and jelly together until the jelly dissolves (I like to turn the slow cooker on high while I do this so it warms up the liquid.)
  • Once the sauce is combined, add the frozen meatballs into the slow cooker and stir to cover the meatballs with the sauce.
  • Cover with lid and cook on high for 4-5 hours, stirring occassionally.
  • Serve hot.

Notes

  • If you don’t have a slow cooker, use a large pot on the stove, and cook the meatballs on low for 1-2 hours, depending on your stove. Don’t forget to stir!

I hope you give these a try! And if you do, I’d love to see how they turn out. Hashtag #thebalkanhostess or send me a DM on Instagram.

2 Comments

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