Tender turkey meatballs
We eat a lot of turkey, and turkey tends to be a pretty lean meat, which can make tough meatballs. So how do you make turkey meatballs tender while leaving out the major allergens?
It’s all in the slop.
The slop makes it tender
The beautiful thing about this recipe is that there are any number of ingredients that work depending on the allergens you’re avoiding. For your liquid, you can use dairy milk, plant milk, chicken stock, vegetable broth, even water. For your crumbles, wheat crackers, bread crumbs, gluten-free Corn Flakes, etc. The only thing you’re going for is that beautiful "slop”-y consistency that’s going to add tenderness as well as structure to your meatball mixture.
Tender turkey meatballs
Ingredients
1/2 cup neutral-flavored liquid (plant milk, chicken stock, water)
Up to 1 cup dry cracker-type product, crumbled (bread crumbs, Corn Flakes, fried onions, Saltines, etc.)
5-8 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
3/4 tsp table salt
1 lb. ground turkey (85-90% preferred)
Neutral cooking oil
Directions
In a large bowl, combine your liquid with 1/2-3/4 cup of your crumbles. Let sit for a few minutes for the liquid to absorb. If it’s too dry, add more liquid; if there’s excess liquid, add more crumbles. You’re looking for a kinetic sand-type texture.
Add ground turkey, garlic, salt. Stir with spoon or with hands, making sure ingredients are well incorporated.
Using about 2 TBS per meatball, shape mixture into balls. Place on a plate or into a container to store in the refrigerator until you’re ready to cook. Steps 1-3 can be done in advance.
To pan-fry, heat large, non-stick pan over medium heat and 2 TBS oil. After pan is hot, add meatballs, leaving space between them. If all the meatballs don’t fit onto the pan at once, cook in batches. Alternatively, any leftover meatball mixture can be frozen and thawed to be used later.
After the bottom is browned, about 3-4 min, use tongs to flip onto second side. Add more oil if necessary. After that side is brown, use tongs to flip onto a third side.
Test a meatball to see if the inside is cooked. If it’s not cooked yet, turn the heat down very, very low so the outside doesn’t burn. Place a tight-fitting lid on top of the meatballs so the heat will be contained in the pan and cook the insides more easily.
Serve with your choice of sauce or toppings. Some suggestions: teriyaki sauce with rice and bok choy; tomato sauce with pasta; on top of a bed of couscous and vegetables.
Allergens: none
Notes:
To add even more flavor, depending on what you’re cooking your meatballs with consider adding any of the following in step 2: Italian spice mix, grated ginger, curry powder, paprika, chopped fresh parsley, chopped fresh basil, chopped chives.
For fast freezing and thawing of meatball mixture, I recommend using a zipper-top freezer bag. Place meatball mixture into bag, then flatten the bag and mixture, removing as much air as possible. The thinner the bag is, the faster it will freeze and defrost, helping to prevent spoiling and freezer burn.
