Chef John's Chicken Meatballs

Chicken Meatballs ? Moral Dilemma Sold Separately

I've had a lot of turkey and chicken meatballs over the years, and virtually none of them were good. Keep in mind, I'm really not that picky, and easily impressed, but halfway through one of these usually dry, oddly textured balls, I'd always be wondering why they didn't just use some nice fatty, red meat. Well, that wasn't the case here. These were as good as any meatballs I've made, or eaten, in a very long time.

Of course, we have to cheat a little bit, but I'm fine with that, and hope you are as well. And by "cheat," I mean add some pork fat into the mix. I went with bacon, since it's easy to procure, and I enjoy the rest of the package fried with eggs, but some pork belly, or shoulder fat would work just the same, albeit without that little touch of smoky goodness.

Please make sure your meat is very cold, as in partially frozen when you grind it in the food processer. That's really a key here, as is using fresh, and not bone-dry breadcrumbs. By the way, these meatballs are so good, that unless you tell people, they will not know you used chicken. So, should you tell them? And if you do, do you tell them you had to cheat with some pork? These aren't questions I can answer, so I'll just finish by saying, I really hope you give these a try soon. Enjoy!