I recently discovered chicken meatballs and immediately fell in love with them. Here is my recipe and tips for preparing them easily and quickly at home.
If you like the idea of serving your guests snacks to munch on, I recommend reading the recipe
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Very cheap
- Rest time: 2 Minutes
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Portions: 2
- Cooking methods: Frying
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
- Energy 476.74 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 36.04 (g) of which sugars 4.01 (g)
- Proteins 49.62 (g)
- Fat 14.98 (g) of which saturated 5.13 (g)of which unsaturated 9.11 (g)
- Fibers 2.81 (g)
- Sodium 1,084.60 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 5 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients for 2 people
- 10.58 oz chicken breast
- 3 slices white bread
- 4 tbsps breadcrumbs
- 2 tbsps milk
- 1 egg
- 1 tbsp chopped parsley
- 1 tbsp grated Grana Padano cheese
- 1 clove garlic
- to taste salt
- to taste pepper
- to taste sunflower oil (for frying)
Tools
- 1 Cutting board
- 1 Knife
- 1 Fork
- 1 Food processor
Procedure
Chicken meatballs can be made with freshly cooked chicken or with leftover chicken. I often make them when I have leftover roast chicken that’s become dry.
If you do not have leftover chicken, I recommend starting with a whole chicken breast and cooking it in a non-stick skillet with a little oil. Stir well to prevent it from burning but do not overcook to avoid making the breast too dry.
You can cook the chicken in slices or pieces, it doesn’t matter, just make sure it’s perfectly cooked.
While the chicken is cooking in the pan, soak the white bread in the milk. If you do not have white bread, you can use regular crustless bread or sandwich bread.
If the bread is very dry, you may need a few extra tablespoons of milk to soften and crumble it.
Take the garlic clove and with a knife, remove the base and cut the garlic clove lengthwise, removing the core.
The core is hard to digest and leaves an unpleasant garlic taste in your mouth.
Finely chop the parsley with a knife and set aside.
In a food processor, place the softened bread, chicken pieces, parsley, a pinch of salt, and freshly ground pepper. Blend at medium speed until a compact and dry mixture is created.
If it’s too dry, add a splash of milk to soften.
Now it’s time to ‘create’ the meatballs. With the help of a spoon, take a portion of the mixture. With moistened hands, form balls the size of a walnut; they should be the ideal size to be eaten in two bites.
Pour the egg into a bowl and with a fork, beat it to combine the yolk and the white. Add the grated cheese and mix gently.
Pour some breadcrumbs onto a plate and roll each meatball in the beaten egg, then in the bread crumbs to coat them evenly.
Fry the meatballs in hot oil, placing them in clockwise order and then in the center. Filling the pan well will raise the oil level to halfway up the meatballs.
After a couple of minutes, when the meatballs are golden, turn them over and finish cooking.
Your summer chicken meatballs are ready!
Plating Tips:
Once cooked, I recommend serving the chicken meatballs with dipping sauces such as homemade mayonnaise, aioli sauce, or ginger mayonnaise.
Tuna Meatball Wine Pairing:
Chicken pairs well with a still and light white wine such as a Vermentino Doc from the Ligurian Riviera. I recommend serving chicken meatballs with this wine!
