Pork and Sauerkraut Balls – A New Year’s Tradition for Good Luck

ring the tradition of good luck to the party by making these pork and sauerkraut balls on New Year’s Eve. Perfect for snacking on the next day while watching the game too.

The Pennsylvania Dutch tradition of eating pork and sauerkraut on New Year’s for good luck is something my husband and I grew up with and have continued our entire lives. In fact, we probably eat it several times a year.

This year, however, I thought it would be fun to make something in a finger food for a New Year’s Eve party or to have as a snack while watching football on New Year’s Day. So instead of pork loin, ribs or kielbasa, I decided to make pork and sauerkraut balls and serve them in a slow cooker.

You can make these ahead and let them sit on a warm setting in the slow cooker. 

These little meatballs have sauerkraut inside so each bite contains the required pork and sauerkraut ingredient.

First, you need to bake them in the oven. That’s how my husband always makes his Italian meatballs so that’s what I did. 

Afterward, I placed them in a slow cooker with more sauerkraut to keep them from drying out.

Serve them with toothpicks or forks. Or, make a sandwich with a yummy crusty roll. You could offer a grainy mustard (my husband would love that) or mayo for the sandwich.

I like being able to serve these as party food and homemade meatballs are always so delicious. However, if you are really short on time you could serve sliced kielbasa with sauerkraut in the same fashion. And if the sausage is made with pork it still counts for the good luck tradition.

Just another idea for some yummy homemade entertaining game-day finger food.

P.S.  I love to be able to bring something to the party. Last year I brought Greek Chicken Bites to my brother’s house and they were a big hit because it was January and they were low carb so many people were watching what they eat. Another low carb finger food recipe is mushrooms stuffed with avocado cream. However, one of our favorite things to make on game days for a group is my husband’s famous Stromboli which takes a bit of time but so worth the effort.

Pork and Sauerkraut Balls

Yield: 36 meatballs

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Additional Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes

Bring the tradition of good luck to the party by making these pork and sauerkraut balls on New Year's Eve.

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Ingredients

• 1 pound ground pork
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 cup breadcrumbs
• 27 oz can sauerkraut
• 1 teaspoon caraway seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper

Instructions

1. Preheat oven 350 degrees
2. Whisk eggs in a large mixing bowl
3. Add pork, breadcrumbs 1/2 cup of sauerkraut, caraway seeds, salt and pepper.
4. Mix together just until combined.
5. Spray or oil a large jelly roll pan or baking pan.
6. Add a little oil to your hands to help roll 1 inch balls.
7. Place on baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes.
8. Transfer to slow cooker along with the remaining sauerkraut and heat through, about 20 minutes.