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four round cooked chicken meatballs with small green scallion flecks and softened red bell-pepper pieces coated in glossy orange sweet-chili sauce beside plain long-grain white rice on an ordinary plate, with no sesame seeds or garnish
Andre Lewis

Crockpot Sweet Chili Chicken Meatballs

A short oven start firms these chicken meatballs before they finish in the crockpot's sweet chile sauce. They should hold together without being baked dry. Use ground chicken that includes dark meat, mix only until the crumbs disappear and keep the balls the same size. The pepper pieces soften in the sauce during the slow finish, while the rice cooks near dinner so the plate has separate grains underneath the glazed meatballs rather than another starch cooked to mush.
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Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 3 hours 50 minutes
Total Time 4 hours 15 minutes
Servings: 6
Ingredients Method

Ingredients
  

  • 2 lb ground chicken that includes dark meat
  • 1 large egg
  • 1/2 cup plain dry breadcrumbs
  • 2 tbsp whole milk
  • 2 scallions finely sliced
  • 2 garlic cloves minced
  • 1 tbsp finely grated fresh ginger
  • 1/2 tsp fine salt
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper
  • 3/4 cup sweet chili sauce
  • 1/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth
  • 1 tbsp reduced-sodium soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp rice vinegar
  • 1 red bell pepper cut into 1-inch pieces
  • 1 tsp neutral oil for sheet pan
  • 1 1/2 cups dry long-grain white rice
  • 2 3/4 cups water for rice

Method
 

  1. Heat the oven to 400°F and oil a rimmed sheet pan. Mix chicken, egg, breadcrumbs, milk, scallions, garlic, ginger, salt and pepper just until combined, then shape into 24 equal meatballs about 1 1/2 inches across.
  2. Bake meatballs for 10 to 12 minutes until their outsides are firm enough to lift; they are not fully cooked yet. Meanwhile, bring sweet chili sauce, broth, soy sauce and vinegar to a simmer in a saucepan.
  3. Pour hot sauce into a 6-quart slow cooker and add red pepper. Transfer the hot partially cooked meatballs directly into the sauce, cover immediately and cook on low for 2 1/2 to 3 hours until the largest meatball reaches 165°F.
  4. During the final half hour, bring rice and its measured water to a boil in a saucepan. Cover and cook on low for 18 minutes, then rest off the heat for 10 minutes.
  5. Turn meatballs gently through the sauce without breaking them. Divide rice among 6 plates and add 4 meatballs, red pepper and sauce to each serving.