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Herbed Meatballs with Cranberry Barbecue Sauce

Published on November 30, 2018 | By
    • Yield
    • 16 meatballs

Savory meatballs infused with fresh herbs pair perfectly with a tangy and slightly spicy cranberry barbecue sauce – this is a great appetizer for holiday entertaining!

We used our seasonal Cranberry Sage Sausage in these flavorful meatballs, but you can also use our regular Classic Pork Sausage or even our Ground Chicken to lighten them up a bit.

Herbed Meatballs with Cranberry Barbecue Sauce #recipe #meatballs #appetizer

 

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Ingredients

  • 1 pound Isernio's Cranberry Sage Sausage (or Classic Pork Sausage, or Ground Chicken)
  • 1/3 cup oats
  • 1 egg
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • 2 Tb. Worcestershire sauce
  • 2 Tb. fresh sage, minced (or 1 Tb. dried)
  • 1 Tb. fresh rosemary, minced (or 1/2 Tb. dried)
  • 1 Tb. fresh thyme, minced (or 1/2 Tb. dried)
  • 1 Tb. chives, minced
  • 1-12 oz. bag fresh cranberries
  • 1/2 cup orange juice (we recommend fresh-squeezed)
  • 1/4 cup molasses
  • 3 Tb. honey
  • 2 Tb. brown sugar
  • 2 chipotle peppers in adobo, diced
  • 1/2 cup ketchup
  • 2 Tb. apple cider vinegar

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 375 F.
  2. In a large bowl, combined the sausage or ground chicken (remove from casings if using sausage links), oats, egg (lightly beaten), garlic, Worcestershire sauce, sage, rosemary, thyme and chives. Mix together well and set aside. Keep refrigerated if not baking meatballs right away.
  3. Prepare the sauce: In a medium saucepan, combine the cranberries, orange juice, molasses, honey, brown sugar and chipotle peppers. Simmer over medium-low heat, stirring often, until the cranberries start to pop (about 10 minutes). Then stir in the ketchup and vinegar. Simmer on low for about 20 minutes until the sauce is thick.
  4. Bake the meatballs: Spray a baking sheet with nonstick spray. Roll about 2 tablespoons of the meatball mixture into balls, repeating until all of the mixture is used, spacing the meatballs apart on the baking sheet. Bake for 20-25 minutes until meatballs are browned and cooked through.
  5. Serve meatballs with the barbecue sauce for dipping.
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