Okay so a while back I did a BBQ meatball recipe where I baked the meatballs. Baking meatballs is a healthy way to cook them because they are not sitting in oil and they can actually drain some fat off of them while cooking. Well on that post I promised I would do a recipe where I boiled the meatballs. Now there are certain recipes that you can do this with and for the others I would say no. Boiling the meatballs keeps them perfectly round and they also keep them super moist and it is just as healthy as baking them if not even more ...but....they do not have any crisp to them. So boil meatballs when you have a recipe where you keep the meatballs in a sauce. The sauce will not necessarily stick to the meatballs but it will absorb in. You would have to transfer a spoonful of sauce with the meatballs to get the flavor of your dish. If you want to coat the meatballs in like BBQ sauce or sweet and sour sauce then it helps if the meatballs have a crispy exterior so that the sauce can stick to it but not have to sit in it. You can just transfer the meatballs over to your plate without any additional sauce and it holds the flavor. I hope that makes sense....if not remember this trick. Sticky sauces stick to the meatball so bake and runny sauces have to be used with the meatball so boil.
So since people like to put additional sauce with their Swedish meatballs on their plate, I was able to boil my meatballs! And it is really easy. Easier than baking :)
Meatball recipe:
Ingredients:
1 lb. of ground turkey
1/3 cup finely diced onion
1/4 cup Panko bread crumbs
1 large egg
1/4 tsp. allspice
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. pepper
Instructions:
1. Combine all the ingredients into a bowl and mix really well.
2. Let chill in fridge for about 30 minutes to help it bind together.
3. After the 30 minutes in the fridge, start a large pot of boiling water. While you are waiting for the water to boil, roll your meatballs.
4. Mine were small this time about 1- 1.5 inch in diameter. It made 30 meatballs.
5. When your water is boiling just drop in the meatballs. They will sink at first and then float. Boil for about 10-12 minutes.
On the other hand...the sauce! While the meatballs are boiling you can start your sauce. If the 10-12 minutes gets over for your meatballs before you are done with the sauce just turn off the heat and let the meatballs sit in the water. The nice thing about boiling them is that you can't over cook them and they will always stay moist! Win Win!
For the sauce:
Ingredients:
1 tbsp. olive oil
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1/3 cup flour
4 cups chicken or vegetable broth (always choose fat-free, low sodium)
3/4 cup light sour cream
2 tbsp. parsley
1 tsp. pepper
Instructions:
1. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large pan over medium heat and then add the onion. Cook until translucent.
2. When the onions are translucent, add the butter and stir until completely melted.
3. Add your flour and mix until all the flour is wet and incorporated.
4. Slowly add in the chicken or vegetable broth. Whisk until mixture is smooth and there are no chucks. Bring to a boil. Takes about 5 minutes.
5. Add the sour cream and again mix really well.
6. Lastly, add the parsley and pepper and then transfer your cooked meatballs over into the sauce. Do not transfer any of the water that the meatballs boiled in!
Serve over brown rice and enjoy :)
