Smoky melted cheese oozing from the inside of a superior-spiced meatball. And all this with a punch of blueberry and hot peppers.
These Purple Cow meatballs will outshine the popular grape jelly meatballs without the jolt of sugar-loaded jelly. The name Purple Cow? The glaze is on the dark purple side, color wise, and the Purple Cow was a restaurant started by my late Uncle Stanley Demuth. He was truly an inspiration to me growing up and he would have devoured these tasty meatballs, as will you.
FYI: These meatballs should be on the wet side. A good school of thought is the wetter a stuffed meatballs mixture is, the less likely they will be to crack open, spilling the cheesy center.
And also, I would like to add that most jelly coated meatballs are cooked in a crockpot or slow cooker. If desired, simmer your cooked meatballs in one for an hour or so. But the same effect is found using the instructions below.
Ingredients
Meatball
- Nonstick cooking spray
- 1 pound ground beef
- 3/4 cup dried bread crumbs, plain
- 2 eggs
- 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
- 1/4 cup spicy pepper relish
- Salt and black pepper to taste
- 4-8 ounces smoked Gouda cheese, cut into 15-20 squares
Purple Cow Glaze
- 1 (11.5-ounce) jar Blueberry Pepper Jelly (see NOTE)
- 1 (18-ounce) jar chili or barbecue sauce
- 1 tablespoon honey mustard
- 1 small, tart apple
Preparation
- 1 Preheat oven to 350-degrees F. Coat a large baking pan with nonstick cooking spray; set aside.
- 2 In a large bowl, combine first 5 ingredients, mixing until all ingredients are even blended. Divide into 15-20 meatballs.
- 3 Press your thumb into one meatball and insert cheese square. Form the meat mixture until cheese is completely covered evenly, pressing firmly all around. Place on prepared pan and repeat with remaining meatballs and cheese, leaving an inch between each. I highly recommend making sure you have at least a 1/2-inch of ground beef coating the cheese. Because of the fat content, the meat will shrink but the cheese will not.
- 4 Bake 15-25 minutes (according to the size of meatballs), or until meatballs are cooked through.
- 5 Meanwhile make glaze by placing jelly, chili sauce and mustard in a large saucepan over medium heat. Whisk until smooth and bring to scalding. Reduce heat to low and stir frequently until meatballs are ready.
- 6 Remove meatballs from oven, drain well and transfer to saucepan containing Purple Cow Glaze. Gently stir and "cook" while preparing garnish.
- 7 Halve, core and cut apple into small bites, enough for every meatball.
- 8 To serve, skewer apple with long toothpick, followed by a meatball. Place on serving dish, repeating with remaining meatballs. Serve while hot.
- 9 NOTE: Being a Yankee, a Mainah' in particular, I am drawn to Blueberry Pepper Jelly....and for good cause. The taste of blueberries is far superior to that of grape jelly, often found in the popular Grape Jelly meatballs (which has been a rage now for far too long).
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