Sweet Chili Meatballs
Freeze-dried meatballs rebuilt in a pot with jelly and chili sauce. A 1960s potluck relic that packs down to six ounces.
- calories
- 620
- weight
- 5.5 oz
- cal / oz
- 113
- protein
- 32 g
- serves
- 2, scales
- prep
- 5 min
- cook
- 12 min
- total time
- 17 min
- water
- 400 ml boiled
- cost
- $$
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Dinner
- Canister stove
- Liquid fuel
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Backpacking
- Dairy free
- Nut free
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Freeze-dried cooked meatballs | 4 oz | or freeze-dried ground beef crumbles |
|---|---|---|
| Grape jelly | 3 tbsp | single-serve packets from a diner caddy weigh nothing |
| Tomato paste | 2 tbsp | the squeeze tube kind, no can |
| Chili powder | 1 tsp | |
| Vinegar powder | 1 tsp | or a splash from a dropper bottle |
| Onion powder | 1/2 tsp | |
| Instant rice | 1 cup | optional, turns it from appetizer into dinner |
| Salt | 1/4 tsp |
Method
- Bring 400 ml of water to a boil. Drop in the meatballs and the rice if you brought it.
- Simmer four minutes, then cut the heat and let it sit covered for five. The meatballs need the full soak or the centers stay dry.
- Stir in the tomato paste, chili powder, vinegar powder, onion powder, and salt. Work it until no paste clumps remain.
- Add the jelly last and stir over low heat for a minute until the sauce goes glossy and coats a spoon.
- If it is thin, leave the lid off and simmer another minute. It thickens fast once the jelly is in.
The original is a crockpot dish: frozen meatballs, a jar of chili sauce, a jar of grape jelly, four hours on high. None of that travels. Frozen meat is out, and two glass jars of mostly water is a pound of carried liquid for a dish that already has a stove under it.
So the sauce gets built from parts. Bottled chili sauce is tomato, vinegar, sugar, and spice, and all four of those exist in dry or tube form. The jelly stays because it is doing structural work — the pectin and sugar are what make the sauce cling to the meatballs instead of pooling at the bottom of the pot. Add it at the end and over low heat; boiled hard, it thins out and scorches on the pot floor.
Packing
Spices, vinegar powder, and salt premixed in one small bag. Meatballs and rice in a second. Jelly packets and the paste tube ride upright in a side pocket.
Variations
- Apricot jam instead of grape, with a pinch more chili powder.
- Freeze-dried chicken works and cooks in the same time.
- Skip the rice and eat it straight from the pot as a two-person appetizer at a car camp.
https://mealswithmaria.site/meatballs-with-grape-jelly-and-chili-sauce