Sriracha Honey Slow Cooker Meatballs

 

Ingredients

1 C sriracha hot chili sauce

1 C honey

1/4 C fresh lime juice (approximately 2 limes)

2 lbs lean ground beef

1 C panko bread crumbs

1/4 C milk

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp kosher salt

1 tsp fresh ground pepper

2 large eggs

Directions

1) Combine sriracha , honey, and lime juice in a slow cooker on high heat. 

2) In a large bowl add remaining ingredients , except eggs. Stir sriracha sauce in slow cooker until combined. Taste and add additional honey or sriracha as necessary to suit your heat preference. Add 1/4 c of sauce into meatball mixture, fold mixture together 2 times, then add eggs. 

3) Mix well, do not over mix or you will have tough meatballs. Place a sheet of wax paper (approximately 9" x 9" ) on your countertop. Using a 2 tbsp scoop, portion out meat and place on wax paper. After all meatballs have been scooped, roll into balls and place them into the slow cooker. Once about half of the meatballs are in the slow cooker, spoon sauce over the tops of them. Continue adding meatballs until they are all in the slow cooker. You may have to layer them, just be sure the bottom layer is thoroughly coated in sauce before you add the next layer. 

4) Reduce heat to low, cover slow cooker and cook for 4-8 hours. 

5) Serve and enjoy. 

Prep: 20 minutes

Cook: 8 hours

Total: 8 hours 20 minutes

Makes: 24 meatballs

If you lightly wet your hands the meatballs will form better and crack less. You can take the lid off after 2 hours to allow the sauce to thicken or you can transfer the sauce to a saucepan on the stove top and cook until reduced by half, or to desired consistency. The meatballs are perfect either way, this is more of a personal choice. Sriracha is a hot chili sauce. The recipe is a medium heat level. If you prefer it to be hot than decrease the amount of honey and increase sriracha or if you prefer milder heat than increase honey and decrease sriracha sauce.