Meet Drunken Sailors: Our New Favorite 5-Ingredient Appetizer

A table full of appetizers can lead to an incredibly satisfying meal, especially on game day. Whether you’re tailgating in a parking lot before a game or watching from the comfort of your living room, snack foods are required. Fortunately, there are many easy appetizers you can whip up for the big game, and the easiest way to keep one of those appetizers warm is to use a slow cooker. 

Drunken Sailors is one of the easiest slow cooker appetizers you can make. It contains just five ingredients, takes no more than 15 minutes to prep, and the six-hour cooking time is totally hands-off. 

What Are Drunken Sailors?

Drunken Sailors are made with kielbasa. The Polish sausages are cut into 1/4-inch slices and slow-cooked for six hours in a mixture of ketchup, barbecue sauce, brown sugar, and whiskey. As the appetizer cooks, the sauce thickens.

To serve, put the slow cooker on warm and let people pick the “drunken sailors” out of the slow cooker with toothpicks.

What Kind of Whiskey Should I Use?

There’s no need to pull out the high-end, $100 bottle of bourbon you bought at a craft distillery to make this dish. Save that for sipping. 

Don’t use a super cheap whiskey, either. A moderately-priced bourbon such as Elijah Craig, Bulleit, or Jim Beam will work. The recipe has a sweet profile, so bourbon whiskey would be better than rye whiskey. 

Can You Add More Kielbasa?

Several Allrecipes community members, including pomplemousse, say the recipe makes a lot of sauce, so there’s room to add more kielbasa. Home cook cuisine debutant successfully doubled the amount of kielbasa and added just a few more ounces of ketchup and barbecue sauce (and no extra whiskey or brown sugar).

If you have more than one slow cooker, consider making other slow-cooker appetizers such as Party Meatballs in cranberry and chili sauce or Big Game Dip, a spicy cheese dip with sausage in it. They’ll stay warm throughout the entire game.