Recipes

Oktoberfest Meatball Sliders

Pröst! This Oktoberfest, double or triple this recipe for a crowd, and watch these flavorful soldiers disappear. We love the classic combination of salty pretzel roll, grainy mustard, and meatballs braised in German-style lager—and our Gourmet Beef Meatballs and Creamy Garlic Sauce make it especially easy to enjoy.

Ingredients

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
2 large onions, thinly sliced
kosher salt
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup German lager style beer
¼ cup milk
1 cups beef broth, low-sodium
2 tablespoons grainy mustard
1½ teaspoons dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon Armanino Creamy Garlic Sauce
2 pounds Armanino Gourmet Beef Meatballs (1oz size)
6 sub type pretzel rolls
sliced Swiss cheese

Directions

Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter over medium heat in a large deep skillet or Dutch oven.
Add the onions and a pinch of salt and sauté until tender and lightly golden brown, about 20-25 minutes.
Push the onions to the side of the pan and melt the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter.
Stir to combine then sprinkle in the flour and stir again until well combined. Do not let the mixture darken.
Gradually add the beer, stirring and scraping up any brown bits from the bottom of the pan.
Let cook for 1 minute then add the milk and beef broth; stir.
Stir in the mustard, brown sugar and creamy garlic sauce; bring the sauce to a boil over high heat, stirring frequently.
Reduce the heat to low, add the meatballs, cover and cook until heated through and the sauce thickens, about 10 minutes. Stir frequently to prevent any scorching. Taste and add additional salt if needed.
Split the rolls and add 2-3 half slices of cheese to each. When the meatballs are hot throughout, add 3 to the roll along with of the some onion sauce and a little extra mustard if desired. Serve hot.

Chef’s Tips

Use a good, pale lager – too dark or rich a beer overpowers the meatballs. You can leave out the beer if you prefer and replace it with an equal amount of beef broth.
To use a slow cooker: make the recipe on the stove through step 5. Transfer the mixture to a crockpot, add the remaining ingredients including the meatballs and cook on high for 2 hours or low for 4.
An easy way to cook the onions is to sauté over medium heat for 20 minutes covered. Every 5 minutes, give a stir and recover. Remove the lid after 20 minutes – they should be lightly golden brown – stir and cook for a final 5 minutes uncovered. The onions should be nicely golden brown and soft throughout.
The sauced meatballs are also very good served on rice or egg noodles.