Assorted Meats Snack Platter

Sticky Apricot Drumsticks:

1. In a large saucepan heat the oil and sauté the onion until translucent.

2. Add the garlic and continue to cook until fragrant. Add tomato sauce, apricot jam, mustard powder, thyme, honey and paprika. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes.

3. Set aside 1½ cups of sauce for dipping. Preheat oven to 180 °C.

4. Place drumsticks in a large bowl and season with salt and pepper. Pour over the remaining sauce to marinate.

5. Tip the drumsticks into an oven tray and arrange so that they are not on top of each other. Bake for 30 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through.

6. Serve warm with extra sauce for dipping.

Tips
• Marinate the meat a night before for this recipe so that the chicken really takes in the flavour. Also, for a crispier skin, turn the heat to 200 °C for the last 30 minutes of cooking.

Pork Sosaties:

1. Preheat a griddle pan over medium-high heat. In a bowl, mix the garlic, onion, curry powder, turmeric, brown sugar and lemon juice. Add the pork and mix well. Season with salt and pepper.

2. Divide the meat into 10 portions and make small, oval-shaped balls. Thread the skewers with cubed onion, meat, then pepper. Spray the griddle pan with cooking spray.

3. Grill the sosaties in the griddle pan for 10–15 minutes or until cooked, while turning them regularly so that they cook evenly on each side.

Tips
• Make sure you soak your bamboo skewers in cold water before use to avoid them burning.
• To make the pork mince, use 600 g pork loin and place in a food processor and blitz until it reaches the desired coarseness.
• To avoid uneven pieces of onion for the sosatie, chop your onion using a food processor, as this will deliver the onion flavour without creating chunks in your meat mixture.

Meatballs:

1. Preheat oven to 200 °C. Soak bread in milk until soft. In a pan, heat oil and sauté onion until soft, then add garlic and cook until fragrant (about 1 minute).
Place mince in large bowl and season with salt and pepper. Add sautéed onion.

2. Squeeze excess liquid from the bread and crumble over the mince. Add egg and mix well. Shape tablespoons full of mixture into mini meatballs (makes about 20).

3. Place on baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes. Heat pasta sauce and toss meatballs into sauce to coat. Serve warm with extra sauce on the side.

Tips
• To make it easy for your guests to eat this dish, place toothpicks on the side so they can use them as ‘forks’, or skewer each meatball onto a toothpick before placing on your platter.
• You can also serve these with a sweet chilli sauce or BBQ sauce. Instead of making your own sauce, save time and choose from the variety already available at your local Shoprite.