This old favorite comes from "The Best of QED Cooks," a compendium of favorite recipes from the Public Television Station's popular fund-raising drives with Chris Fennimore as host
For the meatballs:
1 pound ground beef
1/2 cup dry breadcrumbs
1/4 cup milk
1 egg
1/8 teaspoon pepper
Salt to taste
1 teaspoon Worchestershire sauce
1 tablespoon parsley
1/4 cup shortening
For the sauce:
1 12 ounce bottle chili sauce
1 10 ounce jar grape jelly (cut down to make less sweet)
Soy sauce (to taste; we used 1 teaspoon)
Hoisin sauce (to taste; we used 1 teaspoon)
For the meatballs: Mix together first 8 ingredients and lightly shape into 1 inch balls. Brown in shortening (they don't have to cook through), then drain on paper towels.
For the sauce: Mix all ingredients in a large skillet or Dutch oven. (We used half the grape jelly and it was plenty sweet.) Add the meatballs (can be frozen at this point) and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes. Serve in a chafing dish.
Makes 30 meatballs.
Note: We made the meatballs in advance, baking them in a 350-degree oven for 20 to 30 minutes (eliminating the 1/4 cup shortening allotted for browning.) We froze the meatballs in plastic bags, then the day of the party, we cooked them in the sauce, probably for nearly an hour, first to thaw, then to simmer the meatballs in the sauce.
Recipe from Nancy Polinsky in "The Best of QED Cooks" by Chris Fennimore.
Thursday, December 07, 2000
