Bee’s Sweet, Savory and Spicy Grape Jam Meatballs

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time:
Air Fried: 12 minutes
Oven Baked: 20-25 minutes

I apologize, as this was a hard week for our family, and I was not able to film a video tutorial.

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When you think of meatballs, what comes to mind? A lot of people think of spaghetti, Swedish meatballs, or meatball subs. The first thing that comes to my mind is sweet and spicy meatballs, made with grape jelly, crushed red pepper, and other delicious seasonings. This is a recipe that has been partially passed down by my mother. She makes very tasty jelly meatballs, with either grape or strawberry jelly.

My version is more of a spinoff of our original family recipe. Instead of using jelly, I like to use jam. I have created a savory and special seasoning paste that will coat and soak into the meat. Some of the jam will also be used for a finishing drizzle, which contains the crushed red pepper and other spices, giving it a nice kick along with the sweet.

Remember that meatballs aren’t just limited to ground beef. If you have any ground pork or sausage, those make great jelly meatballs as well. As always, ground chicken and turkey make a great substitute meatball. I do tend to add more seasoning to lighter meats. If you don’t have red wine vinegar, apple cider vinegar adds a nice and savory touch, while brightening the other flavors. White wine vinegar will work, but it won’t be quite as savory.

These meatballs are versatile and fit more than one setting, such as potlucks or get togethers. This dish can stand alone and serve as an appetizer and can also fit into several meals, such as pasta and rice plates. My kids always ask me to make them on pizza night, as they pair perfectly with pizza and/or wings. This is also a handy recipe to have when you have ground beef, but feel tired of burgers, spaghetti, and other common meals.

Don’t care for the sweet and spicy sauce? Follow all the steps of this recipe but leave out all the dry seasonings in your finishing drizzle. Just heat up the jam and pour the sweet liquid over your finished meatballs. You can call this version, “Sweet Garlic Meatballs.” With our fresh and powdered garlic combination, it was the runner up in naming this recipe.

This recipe isn’t spicy as in “hot,” but rather as in savory and flavorful with a small kick. There are a few ways to accomplish a bigger kick to your sauce. You can add ground black pepper, ground white pepper, and/or more crushed pepper. With ground white pepper, you won’t need as much as you would with the other two options. Ground white pepper is my favorite addition when turning a meal into a spicy meal. It is very fine, easy to blend, and doesn’t take much to make you sweat.

Ingredients

• Ground beef
• Any flavor jam (I use grape & enough to cover each meatball twice; around 1 1/2-2 cups)
• 1 TBSP Red wine vinegar
• 1 TBSP Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tsp Minced garlic
• 1/2 heaping tsp Garlic powder
• 1 heaping tsp Onion powder
• 1/2 tsp Black pepper

The amount used depends on the amount of meat you are dealing with. I used around 1 LB of ground beef for these measurements.

Sauce Drizzle

• Jam (enough to melt and drizzle over each meatball; around 1/2-2/3 cup)
• 1/2 heaping tsp Crushed red pepper
• 1/4 tsp chili powder
• 1/4 tsp paprika
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1/4 tsp ground mustard

Instructions

If your meat is frozen, be sure to thaw it out before we start.

Place the ground beef into a medium to large mixing bowl.

Next, combine the red wine vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, minced garlic, garlic powder, onion, powder, and black pepper (the rest of the ingredients from list one) together in a separate bowl or cup. The ending result will be a seasoning paste.

Add this paste to the bowl of ground beef and blend very well, until evenly blended.

At this point, you have two options: You can start making your meatballs right now, or you can allow the meat to marinate in the blended seasoning paste (I let it marinate for 30 minutes to an hour).

Whether you choose to let it marinate or not, the next step and rest of the process will be the same.

Start creating your meatballs. Take enough meat to make them around 1 1/2 to 2 inches in diameter.

Now, either pan fry each meatball on medium heat for 3-5 minutes, while rotating, or air fry your meatballs for 3-4 minutes at 375 degrees F. This is to slightly firm the outer layer of the meatball without cooking it too much.

Place your jam into a medium to large mixing bowl. Whisking the jam with a fork will help loosen it up and make it easier to dip your meatballs in.

Submerge each meatball into the jam, roll them around, and make sure they are covered.

Once they are covered in jam, set into your oven dish or air fryer basket.

If you are using an air fryer, be sure to only set one layer. Don’t try to crowd them or pile them on top of one another. If you choose to add a layer of foil, I recommend adding holes to vent.

Oven – Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Cook the meatballs for 20-25 minutes, ensuring that you rotate and drizzle more jam on them halfway through.

Air Fryer – Set your air fryer to 400 degrees F and cook for 6 minutes. Rotate the meatballs, drizzle more jam on them, and cook for an additional 4-6 minutes.

Sauce Drizzle – This part is quick and easy. Refer back up to the “Sauce Drizzle” ingredient list if you need to. In a small to medium mixing bowl, combine all of the ingredients and whisk them together with a fork. You can heat this mixture up in the microwave for one minute. You can also transfer the mixture to a small saucepan and heat until melted. That’s it; drizzle the sauce over your finished meatballs.

About This Recipe

Most about this recipe and its origin has been explained above, but to summarize everything, this is a long-time family dish that I have turned into my very own, with a savory seasoning paste and a sweet and spicy drizzle. These meatballs are seasoned and flavorful all the way through, while having two separate profiles. The outside is firm, sweet, and savory, while the inside is tender, juicy, crumbly, and savory without the sweet. It’s a harmonic blend of texture and flavor, much like the way that sweet and salty go together.

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