The Secret's Still in the Sauce

Last year I had a post about my "secret sauce" for little cocktail smokies--face it, at any party you go to during the holidays or any time, if there are smokies in sauce, they're usually the first thing to go--a favorite of kids and grown-ups alike.

Have you ever wondered, though, why sometimes they're oh-so-very-delicious, and at other times they just taste like sausage and bbq sauce? The secret is in the sauce--and in the smokies.

Bryan Foods makes several types of little smokies sausages--regular, cheese, and beef. And while I like all three, I have a family member who can't eat pork, but loves these little smokies in sauce, so I always, always, buy the beef smokies when I make this during the holidays.

Ingredients:

• Bryan beef cocktail smokies
• 1 bottle chili sauce (it's next to the cocktail sauce, etc, in the supermarket)
• 2 T grape or blackberry jelly
  

Step one is to parboil the cocktail sausages--cover them with water and bring to a boil. Cook just a minute or two, then drain and return the sausages to the pan. This gets rid of any excess fat and makes for less indigestion when you eat too many.

Pour on the whole bottle of chili sauce in the pan, and add 2 T of your favorite jelly. I usually use grape, but all I had was blackberry this time, so I used that. I also run just a couple of tablespoons of water into my sauce bottle and shake it up to get all the good stuff out of it, and pour that into the pan, as well.

Bring everything up to a good bubble on medium to medium high heat. (You can use high, just be sure to stand over it and stir it more if you do that.) Once the jelly is melted and blended and the whole thing is bubbling, cover it and turn it as low as you can. If you have one of those cute little dip crock-pot thingies, now would be a good time to pour it all in there.

And now the rest of the secret--don't just get it all hot and then serve it--like most good things, cocktail smokies get better and better the longer they simmer in the sauce. I sometimes even make mine the day before, then cool and refrigerate overnight, reheating about an hour before I'm ready to serve them. Trust me, it's worth it if you have the time, the space in the fridge, and (for me, at least!) the foresight to do it ahead of time.

Bryan Foods furnished the cocktail smokies for this recipe--I've received no other compensation for doing this review. The views stated here are those of my own.

Don't forge to enter the giveaway at the top of the page--it's open until 6:00 pm Friday, Dec 11th, and there will be TWO prize packages.