Holiday Turkey Meatballs and Sauce

Festive Turkey Meatballs with Cranberry Dipping Sauce

© Carrie Grosvenor

Nov 12, 2007

Looking for something new and festive for a holiday appetizer platter? This easy appetizer recipe is like Christmas dinner in one bite, featuring flavors of turkey, stuffing, and cranberry sauce. Using packaged stuffing mix and canned jellied cranberries cuts down on preparation time, but still packs these delicious little bites with great festive taste.

The meatballs can be kept warm in a chafing dish or even a crock pot on its lowest setting, or place them in a casserole dish on a hot plate set to warm. Serve the dipping sauce alongside the meatballs, and make sure there are plenty of toothpicks handy for guests to spear and dip with.

Lots of families like to use bulk pork sausage in their stuffing mixes, and this recipe can be tweaked to include these flavors. Simply substitute half a pound of the ground turkey for an equal amount of bulk turkey sausage meat, and carry on with the recipe as written.

The stuffing mix contains all the spices needed to make tasty meatballs, but feel free to add a bit of sage or rosemary. A hint of black pepper is added here for a bit of extra kick. The celery and onion can be omitted if desired.

Turkey and Stuffing Meatball Recipe

Makes about 48 meatballs

Ingredients

• 2 pounds ground turkey
• 1 package stuffing mix for turkey (any brand)
• 1/2 cup water or apple juice
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/4 cup finely diced celery
• 1/4 cup finely diced onion
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup cooking oil
• flour for dusting

Put it All Together

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Lightly grease two shallow baking pans; set aside.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine all ingredients and mix well. If mixture seems dry, add up to another 1/2 cup of water or juice, two tablespoons at a time. The meat mixture should hold together well when rolled into balls.
3. Shape mixture into 1-inch balls.
4. Heat half of the cooking oil in a large skillet. Dust the meatballs lightly with flour, and place them in batches in the skillet. Brown meatballs on all sides, turning frequently and adding more oil as needed for each batch. Drain on paper towels.
5. Place browned meatballs on prepared baking pans. Bake for about 25 minutes, turning once, or until cooked through and no longer pink in the middle.
6. Serve warm with Cranberry Dipping Sauce.

Cranberry Dipping Sauce Recipe

Makes about 1 1/2 cups

Ingredients

• 1 can jellied cranberry sauce
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 1 tablespoon grated orange zest
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Put it All Together

1. In a large saucepan, combine all ingredients. Cook over medium-low heat until jelly melts and mixture is simmering, whisking frequently.
2. Simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes, whisking occasionally.
3. Serve warm with Turkey and Stuffing Meatballs.

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