Crock Pot co*cktail Party Meatballs (2024)

FAQs

How do you keep meatballs from falling apart in a crock pot? ›

Plain old-fashioned grape jelly and Heinz chili sauce are the secret to tangy, smoky, unstoppable meatballs. All you have to do is throw everything together and turn on the slow cooker. If you're using frozen meatballs, add them to the crockpot right out of the freezer.

YES! I do this every time I make meatballs. You can freeze the meatballs after you fry them, but before you cook them in the sauce. Let them cool and then store them in a ziploc bag.

A quick guide to figure out how many meatballs you need is as follows: If you are serving 2-ounce meatballs you should plan on having 3 meatballs per person. Therefore, for 50 people you will need 150 2-ounce meatballs. These will also be 2-inch meatballs or the size of a golf ball.

Add oil to the crockpot, followed by chuck roast, onion, carrot, and broth. Cover and let cook for 6 hours on high heat or 8 hours on low heat. If the meat is not falling apart by then, cook for additional 30-minute intervals until it does.

Brown Meat Before Putting It in the Slow Cooker

The number one thing that I found that helps my meals stay moist is to brown the meat before placing it in the slow cooker. This helps seal in the juices.

Adding raw meatballs to the sauce and gently simmering till cooked yields ultra-tender results, and infuses the sauce with meaty flavor—a slow cooker gives great results.

As the collagen in the meat dissolves over time, it transforms into gelatin, which not only adds a silky texture to the sauce but also contributes to the overall richness and depth of flavor. The longer the simmer, the more tender and succulent the meatballs become.

Because meat shrinks when cooked, mince proteins are likely to separate and crumble unless bound together. Whether it's breadcrumbs or egg (or both), or simply salt, binding the mince is a crucial step in maintaining the softness of your meatballs while preventing them from falling apart.

Is it OK for meatballs to be a little pink? ›

To be sure all harmful bacteria are destroyed, cook all ground beef products to an internal temperature of 160 °F throughout. Ground beef can be pink inside after it is safely cooked. The pink color can be due to a reaction between the oven heat and myoglobin, which causes a red or pink color.

Although the meatballs are not browned first, they still cook though in the sauce and it is safe to add them to the sauce raw, as long as the sauce is kept at a simmer until the meatballs are cooked through. Cooking the meatballs this way means that they stay quite tender even when cooked.

If you only have an hour in between, it's safe to only have a couple different options available, totaling about six pieces per guest. If you will be longer than an hour, more is always better. Consider having four to five different options during your co*cktail hour, totaling eight to ten pieces per guest.

It really depends on how many meatballs each person will eat. On average, each adult may eat around 6-8 meatballs, and each child may eat around 4-6 meatballs. So for 10 adults, you may need 60-80 meatballs, and for 5 children, you may need 20-30 meatballs. In total, you may need 80-110 meatballs for this party.

Here's how many meatballs per person you'll need: One serving = 4 meatballs. Party of 12 = 2 pounds.

My preferred way is in BRAISING the meat in a slow cooker instead of putting in the meat entirely dry. I add a small amount of liquid (about a cup to a can full), with vegetables as well, which would add a LOT of moisture to the meat.

Simply add the meat to your slow cooker with aromatics, stock and sauces and cook either on High for 4-5 hours or on Low for 5-8 hours. How do you make meat tender in a slow cooker? Choosing a cut of beef best suited for low and slow cooking is the ideal way to get extra tender meat.

When roasted, the collagen and connective tissue present in meat will start to break down. It will melt more thoroughly if slow-roasted, and if you add liquid, it will break down even more quickly as it's water soluble.

The Key to Tender Meatballs

One trick to making sure meatballs are totally tender once they're cooked is to use a binder.