If there have been ever a celebration appetizer designed to make you look wildly competent with virtually no effort, it is these air-fryer cocktail meatballs. They’re bite-size, deeply savory, and—most significantly—designed for that wonderful internet hosting candy spot the place you may get a lot of the work carried out early, then swoop in on the final minute with a shiny, just-warmed glaze just like the kitchen hero you might be. There are a number of make-ahead choices: You may form the meatballs and allow them to cling within the fridge earlier than cooking for a day, or you may prepare dinner and glaze them up 4 days forward, then merely heat them when visitors begin drifting towards the snack desk. A fast toss in a skillet turns them right into a sticky, sweet-and-sour crowd-pleaser.

On this recipe, developed by our colleague Julia Levy in our Birmingham, Alabama, check kitchen, the meatballs themselves come collectively shortly. As a substitute of a conventional milk panade, her meatball recipe depends on the liquid from grated shallots and garlic to moisten the panko. It’s a tiny trick that hydrates the breadcrumbs whereas additionally layering in allium taste. A deeply flavorful combination of beef and pork retains the meatballs tender, and the air fryer handles the browning with out having you hover over a skillet. No splatter, no batch-frying fatigue—simply evenly cooked meatballs in a breezy six to eight minutes per batch.

However the actual get together trick is the glaze. Julia wished one thing wintery and jewel-toned, candy but tangy, that felt at dwelling subsequent to a cheese board or a vacation punch bowl. Pomegranate juice varieties the bottom, simmered with ketchup and honey till it thickens right into a barbecue-adjacent gloss. White miso is the key ingredient that reins within the sweetness and provides a savory spine that may make individuals ask, “Wait, what’s that?” (in one of the simplest ways).

When it is time to serve, the meatballs slip into the skillet, get coated within the shiny pomegranate-miso sauce, and emerge prepared for his or her close-up. Scatter them with recent mint and a handful of pomegranate seeds, and also you’ve bought a low-lift, high-reward appetizer that tastes each bit as festive because it seems to be. Excellent for events, potlucks, or anytime you want a assured hit.