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Another weekend and I’m here with another party dish. Though I’m supposed to be on healthy dishes, my Fridays do not follow that rule. As summer is fast approaching, infact in the western part of India it is already like summer, I have decided to experiment with baking of some Friday fried snacks. I can’t live without them and summer won’t let me have them much. So it’s better to learn new tricks rather than change my habits.
This week I was planning to have some party food rather to say appetizers as there will be few on my appointment book soon. And none is interested in heavy deep fried junk food these days. So it is desirable that any host takes care of her party and party animals. In this category I like to keep myself as well. Experiment process is fixed and it’s time to pick a dish which will get a makeover.
What is the most happening appetizer in any party? A good party appetizer should be ‘one bite’ kind of food. And they should be crispy, savory and spicy. That should be enough for individual serving too. And one more thing, the item should be popular among all age groups. A Meatball. Ahh what else can be so appropriate for any kind of party!! It is crispy, savory, and spicy and can be eaten in a single bite.
Initially I had planned to bake them without any changes in preparation. But later I decided to give it crispier look but through baking. So opted for breaded version and skipped the egg from the mixture. And I’m happy I made such decision. Those baked meatballs were crispy on the surface just like a deep fried one and soft and juicy inside. That is the way I wanted them.
But the best part of this recipe is you can prepare the raw chicken balls on the previous day and on party day just bring them to room temperature and roll them in breadcrumbs and keep aside. When your guests are about to arrive just bake them in batches, decorate them and keep them moving towards your guests. If you have conventional oven (lucky you!) you can bake loads in a single batch but if you have to work with only microwave like me you have to bake them in 2-3 batches (according to your need). I made 32 medium sized meatballs per batch. (16 balls per tray.) if you are expecting large number of guests just multiply the amount of ingredients and baking time. One more important thing, if you’ve started preparing them little earlier, make sure you keep them warm; may be you can keep them inside the oven. Because cold meatballs definitely does not sound(read taste) good to me as party appetizers.
Here is the recipe of gorgeous Oven Baked Meatball Appetizers to rock your party.
Preparation Time: 15 mins
Cooking Time: 30 mins
Total Time: 45 mins
Yield: 16 medium balls
Ingredients:
Minced Chicken: 500g
Red onion: 1 cup, finely chopped
Garlic: 10 cloves, finely chopped
Fresh green chilies: 5, finely chopped
Black pepper powder: 1 tsp
Chili flakes: 1 tsp
Dried herbs (oregano, parsley, basil): 1½ tsp
Salt: 1 tsp
Olive oil: 1 tbsp (for brushing)
Breadcrumbs: 1 cup
For garnishing:
Tomato ketchup: 1 tsp for each meatball
Sour cream: 1 tsp for each meatball (optional)
Black olive: 1 per meatball
Jalapeno: 1, cut into roundels
Preparation:
If you are unable to get minced chicken from the market use homemade one with chicken breasts like me. (See Tips)
Take a large bowl. Combine minced chicken, chopped onion, garlic and chili well.
Add chili flakes, pepper, salt and dried herbs and mix well. Keep aside for 20 mins. (See Tips)
After marination take small portions of the mixture with a spoon and keep them in a smooth flat surface (like plate, baking tray. Or even you can use a clean kitchen counter) in a line. (See Tips)
Pour the breadcrumbs in a shallow bowl and season it with pinch of salt and pepper powder.
Take one ball at a time in a spoon and using another spoon try to give it a perfect round shape. It’s okay if they are not perfectly round. You can reshape them later too. Infact, for me that works better. Or you can use a small sized ice-cream scoop.
Drop the ball into the breadcrumbs.
Roll the balls in breadcrumbs with the help of a spoon to cover all the way. Arrange them in previously greased baking pan. Make sure you roll 1 ball at a time in breadcrumbs. This is the time to reshape the balls and make them almost perfect. (See Tips)
Preheat the oven to 2000C. While the oven is preparing lets complete the preparation for baking. Do the oil brushing on the meatballs well. It will give you a nice brown color on the surface. (See Tips)
Bake the meatballs at 2000C for 30 mins. And in every 10 mins remove the tray from the oven change the sides, do some oil brushing and put it back into the oven.
Prick a meatball with a skewer and check. If the inside of the ball is completely white; not pink strain at all meatballs are dome perfectly. If not done, bake for additional 5 mins. Remember, timing may vary oven to oven so adjust your timing accordingly. My oven took 30 mins to bake them neatly; soft in the middle and crisp on the surface. Your meatballs are ready to be served warm.
To get the look of my Meatballs you have to garnish a bit.
Arrange the hot meatballs on a serving plate.
Drop 1 tsp of tomato ketchup on the top. Allow it to slide down and settle.
Drop 1 tsp of sour cream upon the ketchup.
Place a roundel of jalapeno immediately on the top.
Top the entire thing which a black olive.
Serve immediately with your favorite drinks. I served with white wine and scotch in shot glasses. Just grab whichever suits your mood. It is a perfect party appetizer. And for me it is a grand hit, Always. This will also go smoothly with your evening tea/ coffee as evening snack or even for your lunch box with some steamed/fried rice.
Tips:
1. To prepare minced chicken place chicken breasts on the chopping board and run a sharp knife on them mercilessly but in a single direction. Rotate the board in 90° angle and do the same. Continue the same until you reach the desire thickness of minced chicken.
2. If you don’t get enough time for the marination, keep the marinated minced chicken aside for 10 mins atleast. It is important to marinade the minced chicken to let it absorb the flavors. Otherwise meatballs will be dull in taste.
3. It is not necessary to keep the balls of minced chicken in a line. But I found this line up process is much easier to handle and this eases out the rest of the procedures. The surface of the plate should be smooth otherwise balls will break apart.
4. It’s okay if you dint shaped the meatballs in earlier steps. Due to the stickiness it becomes hard to shape them. But with the breadcrumb cover, the meatballs won’t be sticky anymore. So shape it now. Otherwise after baking they will have cracks and that will look very unpleasant.
5. The one & only trick to give your baked meatballs look of a fried one is brushing the meatballs with oil in every 10 mins. So don’t mess with this part.
4. It’s okay if you dint shaped the meatballs in earlier steps. Due to the stickiness it becomes hard to shape them. But with the breadcrumb cover, the meatballs won’t be sticky anymore. So shape it now. Otherwise after baking they will have cracks and that will look very unpleasant.
5. The one & only trick to give your baked meatballs look of a fried one is brushing the meatballs with oil in every 10 mins. So don’t mess with this part.
Hey Julia, you are always welcome 😉
meatball, scotch, meatball, scotch, meatball, scotch…….Theeeshe arrre ggggreeaat!!!
Yeah Steve, It's 'My-Way' to get through the 'High-Way';)
Can I make these meatballs up to the breadcrumb stage and freeze them and in the day before the party take them out to unfreeze and then on the day of the party bring to room temp then continued from breadcrumb stage
yes you can. These freeze well 🙂