10/30/13

Kielbasa Bites {Crock Pot}

Kielbasa or smoked sausage with sweet and tangy sauce made with apricot preserves and dijon mustard.


Everybody loves Little Smokies. You know, the cocktail wieners with the grape jelly and barbeque sauce?? And I love them too but two things crossed my mind the last time I had them…

1) I’m over the grape jelly, and

2) Why couldn't you make the same thing with kielbasa or smoked sausage? It would be cheaper and you could serve it for supper without feeling like you’re in a retro cocktail lounge.

So guess what I did this weekend?

Kielbasa or smoked sausage with sweet and tangy sauce made with apricot preserves and dijon mustard. (no more grape jelly!)

And I’m here to tell you…. I love the sauce! It’s still sweet without being cloying and has a tiny little bite from the mustard! These are awesome as a main dish but would be stellar as appetizers too. Plus, it's just nice to have a new twist on an old classic!

Kielbasa Bites
2 pounds kielbasa or smoked sausage*
1 cup apricot preserves
1/2 cup dijon mustard

Cut kielbasa into 1-inch pieces; set aside. Combine apricot preserves and dijon mustard in a small bowl and whisk until smooth. Add kielbasa and preserves mixture to a crock pot and cook on low or high until heated through. Serve immediately or reduce heat to “warm” or “keep warm” setting until ready to serve.

Note about this recipe: I made these Sunday. I tasted them just after they came to temperature and they were AH MAZE ING. Then I left them cooking on low while we went to Brutus’ baseball game and I didn’t love them as much after they’d cooked 97 kajillion hours. Don’t overcook yours like I did :o)

*I prefer the original varieties of these rather than the all-beef.  And can totally use cocktail wieners with this recipe if you want!


PRINTABLE RECIPE


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16 comments:

  1. Marcy10/31/13, 11:29 AM

    Thank you!!!! I've been looking around for something to cook those little weiners in other than that grape stuff zzzzzzzzzzzzzz.... Never thought of apricot!!! Genius idea with the mustard....

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    Replies
    1. Anonymous12/21/22, 9:53 PM

      I like Sweet Baby Ray's sweet golden mustard barbeque sauce. I bet it would be delicious mixed with apricot or apricot pineapple jam with any smoked sausage or kielbasa. Im going to try it myself

      Delete
    2. Anonymous12/26/22, 5:39 PM

      I like Sweet Baby Ray's sweet golden mustard barbeque sauce too and was thinking the same thing before I saw your comment!! What a coincidence! I plan to make recipe with Sweet Baby Ray's for New Year's and already bought kielbasas however I couldn't find that sauce at the store! Hope I can find it somewhere else.

      Delete
  2. Jennifer G10/31/13, 2:38 PM

    I have done the grape jelly for years but with Chili sauce not barbecue does it taste the same? I usually make mini meatballs since my son says the sauce absorbs better in the homemade rather then the frozen ones. I don't mind doing them to make them happy but the last time I counted 160 mini meatballs, it took forever, but they freeze well. My guys love smoke sausage and kielbasa so your recipe is going on my shopping list right away. Thanks for the great easy idea!!

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    Replies
    1. Anonymous3/16/23, 8:58 PM

      What kind of Dijon do you use

      Delete
  3. Unknown12/4/13, 5:53 AM

    I tried this recipe and the apricot as opposed to the grape jam/jelly was very tasty and the dijon added an additionally great flavor......

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  4. Unknown12/5/13, 10:25 PM

    Making this tomorrow.

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  5. Anonymous2/28/14, 8:59 AM

    Can you give a general idea of how long this will need to be in the crock pot?

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    Replies
    1. Mandy Rivers3/1/14, 6:43 PM

      1-2 hours on high or 3-4 hours on low... just until everything is heated through.

      Delete
  6. Penelope3/8/14, 9:11 AM

    Have not done this in crock pot but have made it several times with cut up (leftover) sweet potatoes mixed in!

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  7. Dee12/28/14, 6:46 PM

    I made these for an appetizer for Christmas and even my 1.5 year old snatched several of the tray!! EASY, LOVED THIS

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  8. Unknown12/29/14, 7:48 PM

    I don't really like Dijon mustard do you really taste it so could I cut it on half or leave it alone

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    Replies
    1. marilynp12/29/14, 10:18 PM

      if I were to make this I would probably just use yellow mustard

      Delete
  9. Anonymous1/1/15, 11:48 AM

    Would you serve this over rice? I'm trying to figure out what to serve with it as a main course. Thanks!!

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  10. sissymanley19641/1/15, 10:30 PM

    I am not the author of recipe of course but I think this would be great over rice!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Anonymous9/8/16, 3:21 PM

    Try:
    Sausage Links, sliced diagonally in 2-in. or more pieces (you may brown if desired)
    1 can Pineapple Chunks, reserve juice
    1 Red and 1 Green Bell Pepper, sliced
    2-3 stalks celery, sliced diagonally

    Combine all ingred. in crockpot; whisk juice and 1 cup BBQ Sauce with 1 TBSP. Corn Starch and add to crockpot. Cook on low until desired doneness. Serve as appetizer or over rice.

    ReplyDelete

Hi there! While I’m not able to respond to every comment, I try hard to answer any questions that haven’t been addressed in the post, recipe or in other comments.

I can tell you now 1) I have no idea if you can substitute Minute Rice or brown rice in my recipes because I’ve never used them and 2) If I know how to convert a recipe to a Crock Pot version, I will make a note about it (otherwise, I don’t know).

And though I may not respond to them all, I do read each and every comment and I LOVE to hear from you guys! Thanks, y’all! - Mandy

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