Sweet and Sour Meatballs
A sweet and sour sauce coats tender meatballs that can be made ahead of time and frozen until you’re ready to serve them.
Hubby and I have really been enjoying our new house here in Cincinnati. Specifically the fact that it’s great for entertaining and can accommodate more than 4 guests for a party. Back in Boston, it took us a few years to figure out how to entertain in our tiny condo. Once we figured it all out, we were able to host a few get togethers, but we always had to keep a close eye on the guest list and make sure it wasn’t growing past our max capacity in the condo.
We didn’t realize how much we missed entertaining until last summer when we threw our first big party at the house. It was to celebrate my birthday in June. Hubby manned the grill, we had a great spread of food (including Funfetti Oreo Cupcakes), and everyone had a good time. Since then, we try to have people over on a regular basis. Whether it’s a small group hanging out by the firepit, a dinner party for 6, or a legit party.
So when the holidays rolled around and we realized we didn’t have New Years Eve plans, we decided to throw a party. If you follow me on Instagram, you already know this. The party was a huge success. We had about 20-25 people over and the last guests left at 4:30am. It was a blast.
AND, I got to wear a little bitty hat.
I love little hats. Not sure why, but I guess why do I need a reason? They’re cute and festive and basically awesome.
These meatballs are one of the appetizers we made for our NYE party. They were great because we had made them a couple weeks earlier and froze them until the party. We defrosted everything in the fridge overnight, then threw everything in a the crockpot a few hours before the party. Since we both had to work that day, it was great to have an appetizer which required very little effort the day of the party.
It’s no surprise these meatballs were great. They’re from America’s Test Kitchen. Those guys really know what they’re doing. The sauce is sweet and sour and exactly what you’d expect in a party meatball. So if you’re looking for a snack to take to a Superbowl party next weekend, give these a shot. You can make them this weekend and then just reheat them the day of the game.
Two Years Ago: Mini Roast Beef, Goat Cheese, and Radish Sandwiches and Amped Up Rice Krispies Treats
Three Years Ago: Oatmeal Chocolate Cinnamon Cookies and Mini Whole Wheat Bagels
Four Years Ago: Butternut Squash and Spinach Casserole
Six Years Ago: White Chocolate Mocha Cupcakes
Sweet and Sour Meatballs
A sweet and sour sauce coats tender meatballs that can be made ahead of time and frozen until you're ready to serve them.
Yield: ~80 meatballs
Ingredients:
For the Meatballs
4 slices white sandwich bread, torn into pieces
1/2 cup milk
2 egg yolks
1/2 lb ground pork
1/2 cup finely chopped fresh parsley
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp pepper
1 tsp salt
2 1/2 lb 85% lean ground beef
For the Sauce
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 onion, minced (~1 cup)
1 (28 oz) can tomato sauce
2 1/2 cup apricot preserves
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
3 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
Directions:
For the Meatballs
Preheat oven to 450 degF.
Using a fork, mash the bread, milk, and egg yolks in a large bowl until smooth. Add the pork, parsley, garlic, pepper, and salt. Mix until incorporated. Add beef and gently knead until combined.
For the mixture into 1 1/4 inch meatballs. Bake meatballs on 2 rimmed cookie sheets until cooked through, 12-15 minutes. Switch and rotate the sheets halfway through.
Let the meatballs cool to room temperature, then refrigerate until firm. If freezing, throw meatballs into a large Ziplock bag and freeze for up to 1 month.
For the Sauce
Heat the oil in a dutch oven over med-high heat. Add the onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Whisk in the tomato sauce, preserves, sugar, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, and red pepper flakes. Bring to boil.
Reduce heat to med-low and simmer until the sauce is thickened, about 15 minutes. Let cool to room temperature. If freezing, transfer to large airtight container and freeze for up to one month.
If meatballs and sauce are frozen, defrost meatballs and sauce in the fridge overnight before you want to serve them.
Add sauce and meatballs to crockpot and set on low for 2+ hours until completely heated. Alternatively, heat in a large pan on the stove top.
Recipe from The Best of America's Test Kitchen 2011
I am Jen the Beantown Baker. Engineer by day and baking maven by night. Hubby serves as my #1 fan and official taste tester. We got hitched back in 2006. Barefoot. In the sand. With the waves crashing behind us. It was one of the best decisions we’ve ever made. 
I really like cuban sandwiches, and in mini form, I would like them even better!
beantownbaker — January 28th, 2013 @ 12:48 pm
Especially if that sandwich was soaked in butter for 24 hours 😉
I am a huge fan of the ham and cheese sliders so I can only imagine how delicious these are!
beantownbaker — January 28th, 2013 @ 12:49 pm
Seriously, I had to put them away so we wouldn’t eat all of them in one sitting this weekend…
I love that you and Fiona made all the food for the party — So much fun!! And I can see why these sandwiches would be a hit!
beantownbaker — January 28th, 2013 @ 12:50 pm
We were definitely on cloud 9 with the prospect of planning all the food for the party.
love that you guys did the menu planning! these must’ve been a hit, they look fantastically amazing 🙂 i’m coming around to pickles… but i dunno about putting them on a sandwich. perhaps better there- they’re surrounded by more delicious things!
beantownbaker — January 28th, 2013 @ 4:34 pm
Glad to hear I’m not the only one. I actually ate one of these little guys that had pickles on it, but Hubby picked them out for me. It wasn’t horrible. I usually can’t even come close to things that have touched pickles.
That photo makes so much sense now. I love pickles and think these sliders would definitely be the hit of any Super Bowl party.
I love pickles! That’s funny you have such an aversion to them 🙂 I’ve never had a cuban sandwich, but these look very tasty!
beantownbaker — January 29th, 2013 @ 9:41 am
Ew. I’m not sure we can be friends. I kid… I definitely don’t let Hubby eat pickles because I can’t even handle it. It’s honestly the one food that I can’t stand…
These look really good, but I have cardiac issues, and 2 sticks of butter is a big no-no for me. Could that amount be cut back or substituted with something else?
Thanks.
beantownbaker — January 29th, 2013 @ 12:40 pm
You could definitely cut back on the amount of butter in these if you wanted to. I would just cut the sauce in half and just pour it over the top instead of on the top and bottom of the sandwiches.
We make iterations of this one all the time…..this is making me hungry for Sunday! We should make Katie buy the ingredients!
beantownbaker — January 30th, 2013 @ 5:32 pm
Definitely a good idea!! 🙂
I just made these for the Super Bowl & they were amazing! Our guests loved them & they were so easy to make! Yum!
beantownbaker — February 4th, 2013 @ 4:45 pm
So glad you enjoyed them!!
AWESOME. I have a Cuban friend who would LOVE these. Going to give this a shot soon! I really love the combination of ingredients.
beantownbaker — February 5th, 2013 @ 10:14 am
Hubby is Cuban and he definitely enjoyed them 🙂 Hope you and your friend do too!
I made a double batch of these for our Christmas party last week. Total hit! and the most requested recipe from the party. I served them in indiv. muffin top wrappers to make them accessible and less messy. I think wrapping them indiv in that waxy sandwich papers would work as well. Love the night before set up. The only edits I made were to use some jalapeno-dill pickles and I found some Kings Hawaiin dinner rolls. Regrettably there were not enough leftovers for lunch the next day for both hubbie and me.
beantownbaker — December 26th, 2013 @ 11:03 am
Glad to hear this recipe was a hit for you! Your edits sound great. Hubby has requested these for our New Years Eve party next week.
My family devoured these. They are so good they want them for Christmas Eve dinner.
beantownbaker — December 26th, 2013 @ 11:03 am
So glad you guys liked these!
Probably a really silly question, but…..
Grated dried onions? What is that exactly?
Any substitute suggestions?
beantownbaker — January 2nd, 2014 @ 1:34 pm
They’re also called minced onions I believe. You can find them in the spice aisle at your grocery store.
Use a little Sweet Pickle Relish instead of Pickles.
beantownbaker — January 5th, 2014 @ 7:05 pm
Great suggestion! I’ll have to try that next time. I’m not a huge fan of relish either, but it’s much better than pickles in my mind.
Oh I could just eat these up in one bite! Yum! I’m thinking of adding a slice of jalepeño in there too…..
beantownbaker — February 3rd, 2014 @ 4:52 pm
Oh jalepeno would be a great addition!
Made these for Superbowl 2014…total hit! So easy and nice you can prepare them the night before! Leftovers 2 days later are just as good! This recipe is definitely a keeper, thank you!
beantownbaker — February 5th, 2014 @ 9:53 am
So glad you enjoyed the recipe!
What size baking dish should be used ? “Place another baking sheet on top…” suggests these are prepared on a baking sheet, but baking dish and baking sheet aren’t the same really. If the baking sheet is used on top, is it weighted to press down on the sandwiches? Sorry, but I never made anything like this and I would love to – they sound delicious!!!
beantownbaker — September 2nd, 2014 @ 7:10 pm
Not sure if you ended up trying these. The baking sheet on top is to help press the sandwiches similar to a classic Cuban sandwich. I would use a pan the same size as what you’re using for the sandwiches. I always double the recipe and use a jelly roll pan for the sandwiches.
A little confused about cutting at the bun seams to cut through the meat? Making these for Fathers Day this weekend! Looking forward to trying these!
beantownbaker — September 2nd, 2014 @ 7:11 pm
Hope these worked out for you. Since you layer the meat on all sandwiches at once, you want to cut through the meat so they pull apart after they’re baked.
these are the best ever! every time I make them folks go wild! I’m not a fan of poppy seeds since they get stuck in my teeth lol so I subbed Lipton onion soup mix for the seeds & dried onion. Weird, but it works. thanks for sharing the recipe !
Interesting substitution. Glad you were able to find something that works for you!
Uhhhhhmazing!!!!! I made for the 2015 Superbowl and it was a huge hit!!! Such a hit I’m already expected to bring to the next get togethers.
Only thing I did different was no poppy seeds and I made my own honey mustard and skipped mustard at the end when you state to put spread some on top. I’m not a huge mustard fan so I eliminated that step and figured the sauce was enough and I was very happy with that decision, it was solo yummy! Thanks for sharing!
Made this for Superbowl 15 and they were a huge hit – SO GOOD! I used Trader Joe’s store bought pulled pork and substituted bread and butter (sweet) pickles for dill. Everyone loved them and the only problem is we can’t stop eating them. These sandwiched plus the Pats victory made for a perfect night for us New Englanders! Thanks!!
Do the buns not get soggy overnight?
I made these and they were pretty rich with the butter. I would decrease it as you suggested, Jen. I think in lieu of pickles, mild pepper rings would work well.
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