Jeeeeeeeez. It’s been a minute, blog! I’ve had this draft sitting here for decades. I’m embarrassed, but at least I’m finally getting this onto the page.
I used to babysit for a couple in Chelsea and the dad made killer turkey meatballs — somehow even better than my mother’s fatty beef ones and arguably on par with anything from The Meatball Shop. I know he fried these suckers in mass heaps of oil, based on the sheer crispiness alone. They are the most sumptuous, tender meatballs I have ever had. And, before you ask, I’ve consumed a lot of meatballs in my time and have many fond memories of doing so.
I also know that he probably uses a lot more cheese and milk than I can handle, so I tried to mock his meatballs a bit myself. The trick is, in my opinion, to bake the meatballs for a little less time and let them cook in a large pot of homemade sauce. Once the meatballs go over to the sauce, you get the added benefit of the meat and sauce melding flavors, while letting the turkey meatballs soak up some more juice. It’s the best solution I could have come up with to avoiding any dryness. You may lose the crispy exterior but you can’t beat the melt-in-your-mouth texture that slow cooking brings to them.
Now to figure out how to get that crispy surface without frying them…
A Slab of Brie 