by Patti Estep 3 Comments
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ring the tradition of good luck to the party by making these pork and sauerkraut balls on New Year's Eve. Perfect for snacking on the next day while watching the game too.
The PennsylvaniaDutch tradition of eating pork and sauerkraut on New Year'sforgood luck is something my husband and I grew up with and have continued our entire lives. In fact, we probably eat it several times a year.
This year, however, I thought it would be fun to make something in a finger food for a New Year's Eve party or to have as a snack while watching football on New Year's Day. So instead of pork loin, ribs or kielbasa, I decided to make pork and sauerkraut balls and serve them in a slow cooker.
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You can make these ahead and let them sit on a warm setting in the slow cooker.
These little meatballs have sauerkraut inside so each bite contains the required pork and sauerkraut ingredient.
First, you need to bake them in the oven. That's how my husband always makes his Italian meatballs so that's what I did.
Afterward,I placed them in a slow cooker with more sauerkraut to keep them from drying out.
Serve them with toothpicks or forks.Or, make a sandwich with a yummy crusty roll. You could offer a grainy mustard (my husband would love that) or mayo for the sandwich.
I like being able to serve these as party food and homemade meatballs are always so delicious. However, if you are really short on time you could serve sliced kielbasa with sauerkraut in the same fashion. And if the sausage is made with pork it still counts for the good luck tradition.
Just another idea for some yummy homemade entertaining game-day finger food.
P.S. I love to be able to bring something to the party. Last year I brought Greek Chicken Bites to my brother's house and they were a big hit because it was January and they were low carb so many people were watching what they eat. Another low carb finger food recipe is mushrooms stuffed with avocado cream. However, one of our favorite things to make on game days for a group is my husband's famous Stromboli which takes a bit of time but so worth the effort.
Pork and Sauerkraut Balls
Bring the tradition of good luck to the party by making these pork and sauerkraut balls on New Year's Eve.
4.30 from 10 votes
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Prep Time 20 minutes mins
Cook Time 20 minutes mins
Additional Time 30 minutes mins
Total Time 1 hour hr 10 minutes mins
Course Recipes
Cuisine PA Dutch
Servings 36 meatballs
Calories 50 kcal
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground pork
- 2 eggs
- 3/4 cup breadcrumbs
- 27 oz can sauerkraut
- 1 teaspoon caraway seeds
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
Instructions
Preheat oven 350 degrees
Whisk eggs in a large mixing bowl
Add pork, breadcrumbs 1/2 cup of sauerkraut, caraway seeds, salt and pepper.
Mix together just until combined.
Spray or oil a large jelly roll pan or baking pan.
Add a little oil to your hands to help roll 1 inch balls.
Place on baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes.
Transfer to slow cooker along with the remaining sauerkraut and heat through, about 20 minutes.
Nutrition
Serving: 1gCalories: 50kcalCarbohydrates: 3gProtein: 3gFat: 3gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.3gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0.001gCholesterol: 18mgSodium: 200mgPotassium: 81mgFiber: 1gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 18IUVitamin C: 3mgCalcium: 14mgIron: 1mg
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. This information comes from online calculators. Although attempts have been made to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures are only estimates.
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About Patti Estep
Patti is the creator of Hearth and Vine, a home and garden blog filled with projects to inspire your creative side. She loves crafting, gardening, decorating and entertaining at her home in Pennsylvania. When she is not working on a project at home or searching for treasures at nurseries and thrift stores with her girlfriends, you’ll probably find her with family and friends, at a restaurant, or home party enjoying new and different food adventures.
Reader Interactions
Comments
Michael Knapik
Very good ! Next time I'll dredge and deep fry
Reply
Carole
I grew up eating sour kraut this time of year. My grandma made a similar dish like this but with sausage. She also made a really good soup and canned her own kraut wow it was good. She did so much more than I, Truly amazing.
Reply
Patti Estep
Your grandmother sounds awesome. If I could go back in time I would love to meet her.
Reply