Smoked sausage combined with a sweet, tangy BBQ sauce mixture that stays warm in the Crock-Pot for the duration of your game day party. A classic party snack and a sure-fire crowd pleaser.
Click HERE to sign up for your FREE email subscription and never miss a recipe!
I had the TV on most of the day yesterday. I like the background noise while I do the wildly exciting work involved in running a plumbing and electrical supply shop. The topic of the day from The Today Show all the way through to The Tonight Show was “Deflate-Gate”, the deflated balls scandal that has rocked the sports world since the playoff game last weekend. I listened to a series of TV anchors – from the most seasoned to the not-so-serious entertainment news folks – snicker at Tom Brady’s deadpan delivery of some very descriptive adjectives he used to explain precisely how he likes his balls.
Twelve year old boy humor at it’s best.
Each year there seems to be something interesting surrounding the Big Game that gives us something to discuss around the water cooler. Wardrobe mishaps at half-time (Miss Jackson), brother vs. brother coaches (that was so cool), power outages (whaaattt??) and this year, Tom’s deflated balls. While I sat editing photos and thinking about what to say about these tasty little sausage bites it struck me.
What’s more fitting to serve on Super Bowl Sunday in the midst of the deflated balls controversy than cocktail weenies?
And, that, my friends, was my first and last weenie joke on the blog (promise). Thanks, Tom Brady.
It’s a classic recipe and a simple one that calls for a total of four ingredients. BBQ sauce, chili sauce, and apricot jam. I’m going to say it for the 528th time, go get yourself some Kinder’s BBQ Sauce. It’s THE best. Do not confuse chili sauce with cocktail sauce. Big diff. Check the label before throwing it in your cart.
I’m using basic smoked sausage here but if you’re serving a bunch of big, burly, football watchin’, manly men (or me), you could substitute a spicy sausage – like andouille- to spice things up.
To get a nice little sear on the sausage before tossing them in the slow cooker, cook them in a little vegetable oil over high heat for just a minute or two. You could omit this step but it adds a level of savory-ness to these little sausage bites that I really like.
Transfer the browned sausage to a double layer of paper towels and blot them to remove any excess oil.
In the slow cooker they go.
Combine the BBQ sauce, chili sauce, and apricot jam.
Pour that tasty mixture into the slow cooker over the top of the sausage.
Set the slow cooker to LOW for three to four hours or HIGH for a couple of hours and they are ready to serve.
The sausage will stay warm in the slow cooker for the duration of the game. Set some toothpicks nearby for serving.
Enjoy the food, the drink, the half-time performances, and oh yeah…the game!
CLICK HERE OR ON THE IMAGE BELOW TO PIN THIS RECIPE TO YOUR APPETIZER BOARD!
Crock-Pot BBQ Cocktail Sausage
Ingredients
- 3 (14 ounce) packages fully cooked smoked sausage sliced slightly on the diagonal
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil or just enough to coat bottom of skillet
- 1 cup BBQ sauce
- 1/2 cup chili sauce
- 1/2 cup apricot jam
Instructions
- Heat oil in a large skillet over high heat. Saute sausage in batches for just a minute or two until browned. Transfer browned sausage to a double layer of paper towels and blot away excess grease and then transfer to your slow cooker.
- Whisk together the sauce ingredients and pour them over the sausage. Stir to combine. Cover and set slow cooker to LOW and cook for 3 to 4 hours or HIGH for 2 to 3 hours.
- Keep the sausages in your slow cooker for the duration of your party to keep them warm. Serve with toothpicks.
WANDA says
January 25, 2015 at 8:29 amLOVE YOUR RECIPES. TRYING THIS FOR FOOTBALL GAMES
THANK YOU
Valerie says
January 25, 2015 at 10:53 amThanks Wanda! Enjoy 🙂
Martha @ A Family Feast says
January 28, 2015 at 10:26 amThis is the perfect game day appetizer! I grew up in a Polish family so kielbasa was regularly on our table – love this version!
Michelle says
January 28, 2015 at 11:17 amI love the idea of using a slow cooker. Thanks for sharing, happy superbowl party!
Rachel Cooks says
January 28, 2015 at 11:38 amLove how easy this is!
Nutmeg Nanny says
January 28, 2015 at 6:08 pmI love using my slow cooker for party appetizers. Such a delicious dish!
amanda @ fake ginger says
January 28, 2015 at 7:54 pmbahaha! The weenie joke made me seriously lol.
I love these kinds of recipes. I could easily eat the entire batch!
debbie says
April 28, 2015 at 6:27 pmtks, i am using this for my potluck at work on friday.
Valerie says
April 29, 2015 at 1:15 pmEnjoy, Debbie!
Mikey says
January 7, 2016 at 3:02 pmDid anyone ever try this with regular hot dogs?
Bobby says
January 10, 2016 at 7:40 pmMade these today for football watching get together. Followed recipe exactly and they turn out fantastic!
Mary M. Martinez says
March 26, 2016 at 12:18 amLooks yummy!This I will try.
Michelle Parker says
April 22, 2016 at 6:54 pmThis would be good with cocktails wieners too or a mixed of sliced polish sausage, cut up hot dogs n cocktail wieners.
rhonda gordner says
May 17, 2016 at 9:04 amcould this be done with other jam besides apricot jam?
maybe grape?
Valerie says
May 17, 2016 at 10:43 amHi Rhonda. I think it would be really tasty with grape. If you decide to try it, let me know how it turns out.
frcarter says
April 22, 2017 at 5:51 amTake frozen meatballs and add 1 bottle of chili sauce and one small jar of grape jelly to a slow cooker and cook on low for a few hours. They are the bomb. My aunt’s been cooking meatballs like this for over 40 years.
Nerissa Devore says
August 19, 2016 at 2:07 pmcan i use meatballs?
Valerie says
August 19, 2016 at 2:44 pmI think this sauce would be delicious with meatballs!
Flawlessly99 says
August 19, 2016 at 2:21 pmThanks for the idea. I wanted some lil smokies but was too lazy to go to the store. Had some andouille in the freezer. I used sweet and rich BBQ sauce and added some jalapenos and sweet heat baked beans for a Friday night game time dinner/snack!
Valerie says
August 19, 2016 at 2:44 pmI’m so glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for your comment 🙂
Sunita says
December 15, 2016 at 10:45 pmHi, can we put any other fruit Jam, if I don’t find apricot jam???
Valerie says
December 16, 2016 at 9:04 amHi Sunita. Yes, you can substitute another flavor. I know a lot of people use grape jelly in similar recipes but I think it would also be delicious with peach.
Deanna says
July 31, 2017 at 10:40 amIs this a spicy dish
Valerie says
July 31, 2017 at 10:57 amNo, the sauce doesn’t have a lot of heat as long as you go with a mild BBQ sauce. The chili sauce adds a bit of a kick but it’s more like a vinegary horseradish type of flavor. Definitely go with a mild sausage and you’ll be just fine.
Pamela says
March 29, 2018 at 11:15 amI used Organic Kinder BBQ Sauce, Sōsu Sriracha sauce and organic apricot fruit spread. I also added some little marble potatoes that I roasted before adding to the crockpot. I will def be making this again! Thanks!
Loretta says
October 26, 2018 at 11:27 amHi ,would adding some sliced sweet onion to this recipe be good ?
Valerie says
October 26, 2018 at 3:10 pmHi Loretta. The sauce is plenty flavorful as is but I don’t think that adding a little onion will hurt.
Loretta says
October 26, 2018 at 11:33 amHi again , I only have 2, 14 oz pkgs of Eckrich turkey smoked sausage do i still use the same amount of ingrediants
Valerie says
October 26, 2018 at 3:11 pmIt will end up quite saucy which wouldn’t really be too much of a problem but you can easily scale this recipe down by using the tool on the recipe card. I would probably scale it to serve 8 instead of 12 and it should be just right for the amount of sausage you are using.