First! My apologize to the Bangles…it was just too easy!
Second! It’s not Monday anymore but what the heck it’s still a good headline!
If you’ve been following the last saga of my trip to the Fancy Food Show you know that I’ve become the owner of a fair amount of Buffalo Style Hot Sauce from Tabasco. So, it seemed only appropriate that I cook something with the hot sauce. There will be more, at a later date, about the hot sauce itself, but in the mean time I adapted a recipe from one of my favorite new cookbooks The Meatball Shop Cookbook
The “baking” of the meatballs on the grill, using indirect heat, is because the meatballs are not firm enough to set on grill grates without falling apart. By cooking them a little first you can then grill them without any problem.
Enjoy!
| It’s Just Another Meatball Monday… |
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
- 1/4 cup Tabasco Buffalo Style Hot Sauce
- 2 pound ground chicken, preferably thigh meat
- 2 large egg
- 1 celery stalk, minced
- 1 1/2 cups bread crumbs
- 2 teaspoons salt
- The recipe calls for ground chicken and more specifically thigh meat. Because chicken white meat is so lean and you’re going to be cooking this twice I recommend you try to find ground thigh meat. If you can’t get your butcher or meat cutter to grind up a package of thighs for you then just do it yourself. You can use a meat grinder or if it’s all you got try your food processor.
- Preheat your grill to 350 degrees using indirect heat. Using the oil coat a large baking dish about 9 X 13 in size.
- Combine all the remain ingredients in a large bowl. Roll the mixture into large meatballs, make sure you pack the meatballs firmly. Place the meatballs in the oil baking dish. Line the meatballs up into neat rows and pack them tightly into the baking dish.
- “Bake” on your grill for about 15 minutes or until they start to get firm and hold their shape.
- Quickly get your grill set up for direct high heat. Remove the meatballs with a spatula and grill them until they start to get grill marks and reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees. Don’t over cook!
- Let the meatballs rest for five minutes and combine with whatever salad ingredients you like. Since it’s a “Buffalo” salad it has to be served with bleu cheese dressing.
- You can easily cook this on your smoker or oven. The grilling at the end is to give it a little of that “grilled” flavor I like. It’s not a necessary step but a good one. Also, by making the meatballs much smaller you can toss them in additional hot sauce and serve them with bleu cheese dipping sauce for a great Big Game appetizer.
I got one of those meatball holder grill tray thingies for Christmas from my sister. I was just putting it aside in the “useless grill gift graveyard” until I saw it online and that she had paid $50+ for it (sad). So now I feel compelled to make it useful and you have given me idea #1.
How was the bite of the sauce in this one? Was the 1/4 c just about right?
I’m digging the combination of the buffalo hot sauce and meatballs, especially combining them with smoke. Great recipe and website.
If you feel incline, please take a look at mine which brings sports, food, and more together.
http://sports-glutton.com
Cheers,
Jed