Turkey Cranberry Bourbon Meatballs: mini homemade turkey meatballs, sauteed in zesty cranberry-bourbon sauce is a perfect appetizer for #Thanksgiving party.
These can be made 2-3 days in advance and simply heat and serve on the day of the event.
Turkey Cranberry Bourbon Meatballs
Thanksgiving is around the corner and these Turkey Cranberry Bourbon Meatballs are a perfect bite-size nosh for your parties.
The meatballs are extremely juicy, delicious and filled with your favorite Holiday flavors.
I always get asked a lot about quick appetizers and I feel meatballs are just such a versatile dish.
They go from appetizer to full-on entree dish in minutes.
Hence, every festive season, I always make tons of mini meatballs (depending on the occasion I use chicken, turkey or even veggies) and freeze for later use.
As our parties approach’s and depending on everyone’s demand, I make a fresh sauce and these meatballs.
And as it’s Thanksgiving, our sauce has to have:
Cranberry
Orange
A Splash or Two of Bourbon
Some Warming Spices
Maybe some sort of Pepper/Pepper based Sauce.
Just thinking about all these ingredients together makes me hungry!!!
So, all I did was combine all the above ingredients together and created this absolutely luscious ‘Cranberry-Bourbon Sauce’!!
I so wanted to call it a ‘Zesty Cranberry Orange Bourbon Sauce’ but then that’s quite a mouthful and just gives away all the flavors.
Instead, keep the name simple and let the flavors do most of the talking 🙂
The moment you bit into these Turkey Cranberry Bourbon Meatballs, the zesty, warm and kinda spicy-sweet flavors wake up your taste-buds.
Definitely leaving you CRAVING more and more.
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Turkey Cranberry Bourbon Meatballs
mini homemade turkey meatballs, sauteed in zesty cranberry-bourbon sauce is a perfect appetizer for Thanksgiving party.
Ingredients
For Turkey Meatballs
- 1 lb Ground Turkey
- 1 Egg
- 1/2 Cup Breadcrumbs - use glutenfree if need be
- 1 Large Onion - thinly chopped
- 1 Tsp Ginger Paste
- 1 Tsp Garlic Paste
- Cilantro for Garnish
- 4 Tbsp Oil
Sauce Ingredients:
- 1/4 Cup Bourbon
- 1 Onion - thinly chopped
- 1/2 Cup Orange Juice - fresh or store-bought
- 1 Tsp Orange Zest - optional
- 3 Tbsp Fresh Cranberries - deseeded & chopped (you may use frozen too)
- 1 Tbsp Hot Sauce - use as per choice
- Pinch of Cinnamon
- 1/8 Tsp Ginger Powder
- Salt - as per choice
- 1/2 Tsp Pepper
Instructions
Make the Meatballs:
- In a large bowl, add the meatballs ingredients and mix evenly to form a smooth dough.
- Make 30 small balls (or depending on the size you want to make) and then keep aside.
- Heat 2 tbsp oil in a large non-stick pan .
- Now, add the meatballs and evenly cook on both sides (it takes 3 minutes to cook 10 balls over medium heat).
- Follow the step above till all meatballs are cooked and place the cooked meatballs separately.
Make the Cranberry Bourbon Sauce:
- In the same pan, heat the remaining oil.
- Now add chopped onion and saute till golden brown.
- Add cranberries, cinnamon, ginger, and saute for a minute.
- Now add all the remaining ingredients (except bourbon), saute and cover cook the sauce for 4 minutes (or till the sauce starts to thicken).
- Remove the cover and add the bourbon.
- Now add the cooked turkey meatballs and saute everything lightly.
- Let this cook for 5 minutes over low heat.
- Once the sauce is thickened nicely and coated the meatballs, turn off the heat.
- Transfer to serving bowl and sprinkle cilantro on top.
- Serve immediately.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
10Serving Size:
3Amount Per Serving: Calories: 227Total Fat: 15gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 11gCholesterol: 67mgSodium: 199mgCarbohydrates: 8gFiber: 1gSugar: 3gProtein: 13g
2 Replies to "Turkey Cranberry Bourbon Meatballs - #Thanksgiving Appetizer"
Sanj November 16, 2018 (5:02 pm)
That color looks amazing and they are so juicy.
Molly Kumar November 16, 2018 (6:23 pm)
Thank you Sanj.