Kick Off Football Season With These Merlot Meatballs

It’s the official start of football season, and we’ve found the perfect recipe to make your tailgate a touchdown. These Merlot Meatballs are so savory and delicious, everyone will be cheering for the game to start, whether they are a football fan or not.

Bring your team of meat and wine lovers because this is a feast you are going to want to share.

Serves: 50 meatballs

Ingredients:

• 1 (26 oz.) bag of bite-sized Italian or Swedish meatballs
• ½ cup balsamic vinegar
• 1 cup Sutter Home Merlot
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp. soy sauce
• ⅓ cup honey
• 10 tbsp. unsalted butter
• 1 tsp. cornstarch
• 1 tsp. water

Instructions:

1. Put the meatballs in the slow cooker and set on low heat to thaw them.
2. Add balsamic vinegar, Merlot, garlic, soy sauce, and honey to a saucepan over medium-low heat.
3. Once the saucepan comes to a boil, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 20-25 minutes.
4. Add the butter to the mixture, stirring continuously to thicken as the butter melts.
5. In a small bowl, stir together the cornstarch and water until the starch completely dissolves
6. Stir the cornstarch and water mixture into the sauce.

Cook the sauce for another 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly.

1. Pour sauce over the meatballs in the slow cooker.
2. Cover slow cooker and cook on high for 1½-2 hours, or until meatballs reach an internal temperature of at least 160 F.

Game on!

Try adding these for a sweet treat.