Chicken meatballs

[bigdaddy3k]

The house is on a diet. Sometimes I feel I need to go in a new direction. Last night was one of those nights.

I bought a huge amount of boneless skinless breasts, about 6 lbs. (yeah yeah, I like leftovers)

I ground them up in my meat grinder. At the same time I ground up 4 medium carrots and two chopped ribs of celery (you have to chop them or the threads just tangle inside the grinder)

To this ground up pile I added...

1 1/2 - 2 cups of oatmeal
1 egg
1/4 cup of worsteshire (sp) sauce.
2 Tbs brown mustard
1 - 1 1/2 tsp onion powder
4 cloves of garlic crushed
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp yellow curry powder
1/2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp dried parsley

(Note: if its not firming up enough to form balls you can add more oatmeal)

I browned the meatballs in a frying pan using a small amount of olive oil then transfered them to a baking pan for 25 minutes in a 350 degree oven. Most of these went into a ziplock bag for later use but I took about 15 of them and made a meatball and gravy dish...

4 cups of mushroom broth
1 large can of sliced mushrooms
salt onion and garlic powder to taste.
Sprinkle of dried parsley for both color and to counteract the garlic breath
thickened with whole wheat flour/powdered milk slurey.

The wife and kids really loved it.

 

[Yakuta]

bigdaddy, I do this a lot and also with ground turkey.

My recipe is slightly different since I am Indian, I like to pack a punch with Indian flavors. If you want to give this a try sometime do that.

Ground chicken or turkey (3 pounds or more)
3 tbsp of roasted and powdered cumin (roast the seeds and then powder ina coffee grinder)
3 tbsp of roasted and powdered corrainder (same technique)
2 green chilis finely minced
1 stick of giner finely minced
2 eggs
salt to taste
1/2 cup of bread crumbs (fresh bread, either crumbled by hand or in a grinder)
1 cup of freshly chopped cilantro
1/4 cup of freshly chopped mint (or a tbsp of dry mint)
Mix it all together and let it marinate for a couple of hours

Chop 1 large onion finely. You can even blend it in a mixer and then drain it in a strainer to remove the water and put the onion pulp in the meat mixture. Stir it all to combine.

Make small meatballs and bake them until cooked.

You can serve them with a cilantro yogurt dipping sauce or a tamarind sauce

You can also make a bunch and freeze them. You can make a kofta curry with some. To make a kofta curry you need to make a sauce with onions, yogurt, indian spices, tomatoes and then drop the meatballs slowly in it. The gravy should be nice and thick. Garnish with cilantro and serve with naan.

 

[Wyogal]

what do you mean by a "stick of giner?" I am assuming you mean ginger, but what is a "stick?" How much do you use?

 

[Selkie]

You can do the same thing with a trimmed pork tenderloin and have same few calories as you do with lean, skinless chicken breasts. It's a healthy alternative to people tired of chicken... and less expensive.

 

[Yakuta]

Sorry Wyogal, I tend to type fast. I meant ginger and about 1 inch stick of ginger grated or minced would do it and yes I don't use any garlic in my meatballs.

 

[LPBeier]

These all sound great. I unfortunately can't use oatmeal or breadcrumbs in my cooking because my HD is wheat/gluten intolerant. I know oatmeal is an "iffy" on the no gluten list but it can be cross contaminated. I might grind up some of the ends of his GF bread and try it though this is heavier and with the meat already being lean I might need to add some more liquid. I love to experiment so I will try it next time I get my hands on some chicken, turkey or pork!

 

[bigdaddy3k]

These all sound great. I unfortunately can't use oatmeal or breadcrumbs in my cooking because my HD is wheat/gluten intolerant. I know oatmeal is an "iffy" on the no gluten list but it can be cross contaminated. I might grind up some of the ends of his GF bread and try it though this is heavier and with the meat already being lean I might need to add some more liquid. I love to experiment so I will try it next time I get my hands on some chicken, turkey or pork!

How about corn meal? OOOoooo that sounds good! I can taste that.

Thank you Yakuta. I have just started to explore in an "Indian" direction. Lots of vegetable stews and yogurt. More spice less fat. I look forward to trying your version!

 

[LPBeier]

How about corn meal? OOOoooo that sounds good! I can taste that.

I use cornmeal as a replacement everywhere else but never thought of it for a meat filler/binder. Thanks BD, I will try that, it does sound good.

 

[radhuni]

bigdaddy, I do this a lot and also with ground turkey.

My recipe is slightly different since I am Indian, I like to pack a punch with Indian flavors. If you want to give this a try sometime do that.

Ground chicken or turkey (3 pounds or more)
3 tbsp of roasted and powdered cumin (roast the seeds and then powder ina coffee grinder)
3 tbsp of roasted and powdered corrainder (same technique)
2 green chilis finely minced
1 stick of giner finely minced
2 eggs
salt to taste
1/2 cup of bread crumbs (fresh bread, either crumbled by hand or in a grinder)
1 cup of freshly chopped cilantro
1/4 cup of freshly chopped mint (or a tbsp of dry mint)
Mix it all together and let it marinate for a couple of hours

Chop 1 large onion finely. You can even blend it in a mixer and then drain it in a strainer to remove the water and put the onion pulp in the meat mixture. Stir it all to combine.

Make small meatballs and bake them until cooked.

You can serve them with a cilantro yogurt dipping sauce or a tamarind sauce

You can also make a bunch and freeze them. You can make a kofta curry with some. To make a kofta curry you need to make a sauce with onions, yogurt, indian spices, tomatoes and then drop the meatballs slowly in it. The gravy should be nice and thick. Garnish with cilantro and serve with naan.

I prepare koftas with these ingredients. It really delicious in taste.

 

[bigdaddy3k]

I use cornmeal as a replacement everywhere else but never thought of it for a meat filler/binder. Thanks BD, I will try that, it does sound good.

I was watching triple D with Guy Fieri (sp) last night. They were at a restaurant that did a bunch of stuff with polenta. They did a creamy thick cereal version that they scooped onto a plate with an icecream scooper and covered it with bolonaise sauce. BOY, did I want that! Diet be darned!

 

[Wyogal]

I made a chicken gallantine in cooking school, and while everyone else followed the recipe, I made mine Tex-Mex. I used cornmeal in my panade, and tequila instead of brandy. Instead of smoked ham/pitaschio garnish, I used chorizo (smoked, Spanish style), and pepitas.
Yep, it was good!
As long as you don't use a whole lot of fat in a polenta and bolognese, I think it would fit into a healthy meal plan, Bigdaddy! Just have a nice salad with it and cut down on your portions.

 

[bigdaddy3k]

I agree, I have been getting good at cooking rich but low fat. It's an interesting challenge and it's probably just what I needed in the war to keep my cooking new and interesting.