Organic turkey meatballs 7/27/19
Yields approx. 13-15 meatballs
Total time- 30 minutes
10 minute prep
20 minute cook time
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INGREDIENTS
*1/2 a small white onion ~1/3 a cup
*1 pound organic ground turkey thigh meat.
*1 white hamburger bun or similar bread item
*2 tablespoons unsalted softened real butter
*1 tsp kosher salt
*1/2 tsp fresh course ground pepper
*1&1/2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh basil (about 5-8 large leaves)
*1 tablespoon olive oil (and a little more later for cooking)
***Useful kitchen goods for this recipe-
-Seasoned cast iron skillet or Shawn Felts original ceramic flameware skillet- holds heat and browns better than standard non stick pans
-Meat thermometer- a useful, inexpensive kitchen tool to ensure meat and other items are cooked to the correct internal temperature.
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***Preheat oven to 300 degrees
Start with a panade -(A panade is a mixture of starch and liquid that is added to ground beef or other types of meat. Any combination of starch (bread, panko, crackers) and liquids (milk, buttermilk, yogurt, stock, water) can be used.)
Turkey is notoriously lean, easy to overcook and can dry out very easily. Adding a panade to this mixture will ensure they are juicy and tender.
In a large mixing bowl combine the 2 tablespoons of very softened butter and 1 hamburger bun ripped into small pieces. No need to mix yet, set aside
Add finely chopped white onion, basil, ground turkey, salt, and pepper to panade mixture. Top with olive oil and mix with hands enough to thoroughly combine ingredients. Do not overmix
Place 12” “Shawn Felts handmade ceramic flameware pan” or cast iron skillet over medium heat and add 1 teaspoon of olive oil and 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil (better for high heat cooking)
While pan heats up gently roll turkey mixture into meatball shape. Rolling golf ball sized meatballs should yield approx. 13 meatballs. Give each ball a quick but firm squeeze in your hands to be certain they are compact enough to stay together during searing.
When fished rolling meatballs, thoroughly wash hands with soap and hot water and then turn heat to medium high. When oil is ready carefully add meatballs one at a time. They should fit with just a bit of space between each ball.
Do not shake pan or move. Let meatballs brown thoroughly on the first side for 2-3 minutes and then carefully flip- they should have a nice brown crust. (Be careful - oil is real hot ... duh,,)
I like a smaller wooden mixing spoon for this flipping step.
After browning the second side for 2-3 minutes carefully place skillet onto middle rack of 300’ preheated oven.
Cook until meatballs register just over 160’ degrees in the center using a meat thermometer. Because we pre-browned they should only take ~15 minutes to reach temp. We want an internal temperature of 165’ but the temperature will continue to rise in the hot pan once removed from oven.
Let sit in pan for 5 minutes until temp reaches 165’
Serve as is, or with your favorite pasta, or an a toasted hoagie roll with marinara and provolone.
***IMPORTANT NOTES***
You probably want to double this recipe as you have eaten over 5 of the meatballs straight out of the hot pan before you had a chance to “do anything with them”.. I get it. Double it, but ...don’t over crowd your pan when searing meatballs on stovetop. Work in batches
*** Make sure you are careful when handling all poultry as to not cross contaminate.. imagine the recipe in two parts
Part 1 - raw turkey
Part 2 cooked turkey
I like to have two batches of all utensils
( I chuck into the sink anything that touched raw or undercooked turkey after the flip the meatballs step and move to all new utensils) Wash your hands often!
***This recipe is healthy, yes we had 2 tablespoons of unsalted real butter and some olive oil, but divide that butter into ~15 meatballs and you have 1/15th of an ounce in each meatball- so just try not to eat all of them in 1 sitting. If you do, maybe go shoot some baskets at your closest B-ball court.