Sauerbraten meatballs Recipe on Food52 (2024)

Author Notes

For a pretty easy fun holiday dish for an open house this recipe works really well. You can make these well ahead of time and heat in a crock pot for a party. The best way to serve these for a large party is in a shallow chafing dish over a warming plate with lots of toothpicks. The flavors develop nicely overnight, if you can make these a day a head. They also freeze well. You can cut this recipe in half easily if you do not need so many. These are pretty healthy for a party dish, too, and can be kept kosher. I just used gluten-free ginger snaps that worked out really well in this batch. The spices will add a holiday scent to your home. - Sagegreen —Sagegreen

Test Kitchen Notes

I loved these meatballs. The apple flavor came through so well, accentuated by the fennel and rosemary notes. It's also great that the meatballs can be prepared ahead. I recommend doing this for less stress on party day but would suggest making the sauce the day that the meatballs will be served -- I had to thin my sauce out after it chilled and I reheated it to serve the next day.
This is really a dish for an adult affair, my kids (normally adventurous), didn't really like them. The meatballs have a hearty flavor profile that I found very satisfying for a dish for a cold winter's night. They pair very well with beer and hard cider and their high protein content makes them a good choice if alcohol will be served. —epickles

What You'll Need

Ingredients

• 1 poundground turkey
  
• 1 poundground beef
  
• 1 cupfinely chopped onion
  
• 3 ouncesale, pumpkin or amber
  
• 6 ouncescrushed ginger snaps
  
• zest from one lemon, divided in half
  
• zest from one orange, divided in half
  
• 1 ouncefresh grated and peeled ginger, divided in half
  
• 1 tablespoonapplesauce, preferably homemade with cinnamon
  
• 1 teaspoonkosher salt
  
• ¹/₂ teaspoonfresh milled black pepper
  
• ¹/₂ teaspoonground fennel seed, optional
  
• 1 cupturkey broth, preferably homemade
  
• ¹/₂ cupapple cider vinegar
  
• 6 ouncespumpkin or amber ale
  
• 4 ouncesapplesauce, preferably homemade with cinnamon
  
• 4 ouncescrushed ginger snaps
  
• 1 tablespooncornstarch or flour
  
• a 1x2 inch piece of pancetta, chopped, optional
  
• ¹/₂ tablespoonmolasses
  
• 1 tablespoonreal maple syrup
  
• 1 tablespoonbrown sugar, to taste
  
• 1 teaspoonkosher salt, to taste
  
• ¹/₂ teaspoonground black pepper
  
• pinch of nutmeg and cinnamon
  
• 1 shotcalvados
  
• sprigs of fresh rosemary, optional