Servings: 6 Prep: 30 min Cook: 30 min Total: 1 hr
This recipe stems from my mothers own quintessential holiday recipe. I remember as a kid, that she’d always cook up these sweet and sour meatballs and bring them along to the company holiday, picnic, gathering, etc. I don’t really know what it’s called, but she’d bring along a large rectangular electric wok-like pan. She’d fill it with her saucy meatballs and plug it in. She’d then plunk down a bunch of thick wooden toothpicks and wait for the meaty little orbs to heat back up!
I remember sitting next to the pan, bored and dreading the holiday company gathering, and I’d quietly eat all the meatballs, while no one was looking. To this day, I don’t really know what she did, but they were juicy and sweet! I’m assuming they were meatballs floating in a mixture of ketchup and grape jelly, but I cannot recall. Whatever they were, they were delicious!
My own version of this recipe tries to achieve a similar thing, a sweet and tart sauce, but rather than using a can of grape jelly, I’ve gone a slight step further, creating something like a sweet and smoky Cranberry BBQ Sauce. These, were also delicious!
The moment after I took these photos, I set the meatballs on the counter and quietly ate them all, while no one was looking.
I might suggest making a double batch, when you DO make these. Half for you and half for the party people.
Happy Holidays!
Cranberry BBQ Turkey Meatballs
Print RateIngredients
Turkey Meatballs
- 2 tbsp fresh whole butter softened
- 1 small onion peeled and finely diced
- 4 each garlic clove minced
- 1 lb ground turkey
- 1 large egg
- 1 tbsp fresh sage chopped
- salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
Cranberry BBQ Sauce
- 1 each orange
- 12 oz fresh cranberries
- 1 tbsp fresh sage chopped
- 1/2 cup reduced sugar ketchup
- 1/2 cup sugar free maple syrup
- 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
- 2 tbsp liquid smoke
- salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 425 F.
- For the meatballs ...
- Sauté the onions and garlic, in butter, over medium-high heat. Add a little salt and pepper. Saute for about 5 minutes. A little brown color is fine. Once this is done, set aside.
- Mix together the turkey, egg, fresh sage, salt, pepper and onion mixture. Combine well with your hands.
- Roll small meatballs with your hands. 1/2 to 3/4 oz. per ball (about 15 to 20 grams).
- Set your meatballs on a greased tray and bake for about 10 minutes. Remove and set aside.
- For the sauce ...
- Use a zester or the fine side of a cheese grater to zest the outside of the orange (just remove the orange part, not the white part). Place the grated orange skin (zest) into a wide sauté pan.
- Juice the orange, removing the seeds, and add the juice to the pan.
- Add remaining ingredients and simmer until the cranberries begin to break down and the sauce thickens, about 30 minutes.
- Add your meatballs to the sauce and season with salt and pepper, to adjust seasoning.
- Simmer for about 10 minutes. Serve!
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I loved this barbeque sauce! Great idea! This will be a staple in the fridge from now on. I dropped the OJ and substituted some water and OJ extract to make it a little less carbs. Thanks so much for the recipe.