Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Buffalo Chicken Meatballs & Blue Cheese Dressing

From chicken wings to chicken dip to chicken sandwiches, there are plenty of us out there who can't get enough buffalo sauce flavor in our lives. If you're a Buffalo-holic like me, when that craving sets in, there's no stopping it until at least a dozen spicy wings have been demolished or half the pan of buffalo chicken dip magically disappeared. Basically, it's hard for me to maintain self-control around this favorite spicy flavor.

Making buffalo wings can be labor intensive and eating them can be extremely messy. That's where the beauty of these mini buffalo chicken meatballs comes in. Ain't no thang but a chicken waaang.



They're little meatballs packed with lots of flavor and ridiculously easy to make. You won't be able to resist my Schweddy Bevy Balls (sorry, couldn't resist going back to that classic SNL sketch).  Look how they glisten!

Simply melt butter and hot sauce together and combine with ground chicken, an egg, minced celery, bread crumbs, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Tip: use Frank's Hot Sauce; it's one of the original hot sauces used to make buffalo wings.




Roll them into a small ball shape; about 3/4 inch. Place into a pan so that they're touching each other and bake at 450F until the center of a meatball reads 165F.



You might be thinking...a chicken meatball? Is she crazy? These mini delights come from Daniel Holzman and Michael Chernow of The Meatball Shop in NYC and they are a top seller at the restaurant.



Make them yourself and you'll see why they're the most ordered meatball at the restaurant. People in NYC live and breathe for this place; sometimes they eat there two days in a row, it's that good.

Once they've come out of the oven, let them cool and then dip in a blue cheese sauce. Or ranch. Whatever you fancy.



Warning: so good you may not go back to the bone.



The Meatball Shop's Buffalo Chicken Meatballs
makes 40 meatballs

  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 4 tablespoons (½ stick) unsalted butter
  • ⅓ cup Frank's Red Hot sauce or any other favorite hot sauce
  • 1 pound ground chicken, preferably thigh meat
  • 1 large egg
  • ½ celery stalk, minced
  • ¾ cup breadcrumbs
  • 1 teaspoon salt

1. Preheat the oven to 450F. Drizzle the vegetable oil into a 9 x 13- inch baking dish and use your hand to evenly coat the entire surface. Set aside.

2. Combine the butter and hot sauce in a small saucepan, and cook over low heat, whisking until the butter is melted and fully incorporated. Remove from the heat and allow the mixture to cool for 10 minutes.

3. Combine the ground chicken, hot sauce mixture, egg, celery, bread crumbs, and salt in a large mixing bowl and mix by hand until thoroughly incorporated.

4. Roll the mixture into round, ¾-inch balls, making sure to pack the meat firmly. Place the balls in the prepared baking dish, being careful to line them up snugly and in even rows vertically and horizontally to form a grid. The meatballs should be touching one another.

5. Roast for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the meatballs are firm and cooked through. A meat thermometer inserted into the center of a meatball should read 165F.

Allow the meatballs to cool for 5 minutes in the baking dish before serving.



The Meatball Shop's Blue Cheese Dressing
makes 2 cups

  • ¾ cup sour cream
  • ⅓ cup crumbled blue cheese
  • ⅓ cup whole milk
  • ⅓ cup mayonnaise
  • 1 teaspoon salt or more to taste
  • 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

1. Place the sour cream, blue cheese, milk, mayonnaise, salt, and vinegar in a medium bowl and whisk thoroughly until completely combined. Taste and adjust the seasoning, if desired.

1 comment:

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