Picture super tender meatballs which are coated in an easy, but delicious teriyaki bourbon sauce! These saucy meatballs are so perfect for party and picnic season because they are cocktail-sized. They can be literally served on toothpicks and that’s what makes them so much fun! I made these meatballs super spicy too but that’s totally up to you.
Bourbon can be substituted with whiskey-they are almost the same so don’t fret about it. I used store bought teriyaki sauce for convenience but you can checkout this homemade teriyaki sauce recipe by Allrecipes.
You can fry or bake the meatballs. I baked them for 15 minutes, but you can do this on the stove in a frying pan. All you have to do is fry it on all sides until the meatball is browned all over. Since they are quite small in size, it yielded a lot of meatballs so I figured baking them is just easier. The sauce is whipped up with hot sauce, rice vinegar, bourbon and teriyaki sauce. You let it reduce and thicken up slightly then add in the cooked meatballs last. Simmering the cocktail meatballs in the sauce on low heat allows the meatballs to soak up all the sauce without overcooking. These saucy cocktail meatballs are great eaten solo or with your favorite carbs.
If you loved this recipe, check out my Swedish meatballs!
Ingredients
Meatballs
0.5 kg/1 lb ground beef
1 teaspoon table salt
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
1/2 tablespoon onion powder
1/2 cup milk
1 large egg, whisked
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1/2 cup Panko breadcrumbs
2 tablespoons chives or sliced green onion, plus extra to garnish
Sesame seeds to garnish
Sauce
1/2 cup teriyaki sauce
1/2 cup bourbon or whiskey
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
4 tablespoons hot sauce (use half if you want it less spicy)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F/205°C.
- Mix the meatball ingredients together in a large mixing bowl. Shape this into -bite sized mini balls and place on a lined baking tray, making sure they don't touch.
- Bake the meatballs for 10 minutes, flip and continue baking for another 5 minutes. They don't need to perfectly cooked through.
- In a saucepan, combine the hot sauce, bourbon and teriyaki sauce and cook on medium heat until it reduces in size by half.
- Once the sauce has thickened after 10 minutes, toss the cooked meatballs with the sauce.
- Lower the heat and let the meatballs simmer on low heat, uncovered, for about 10 minutes.
- Push a toothpick into a meatball, and use the remaining space on its end to pick up 2 or 3 more meatballs.
- Place the loaded toothpicks on a plate and repeat until all the meatballs are on a toothpick.
- Serve warm and garnish with green onions and/or sesame seeds.
- Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.