Italian Style Turkey Meatballs

By melissaf

Ingredients

• 1 1 cup 1 cup chicken broth
• 1/2 1/2 ounce 1/2 ounce dried shiitake mushrooms
• 2 2 slices 1-inch hearty white sandwich bread, torn into 1-inch pieces
• 1 1 ounce 1 ounce Parmesan cheese, grated (1/2 cup), plus extra for serving
• 1 1 tablespoon 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
• 1 1/2 1 1/2 teaspoons 1/2 teaspoons unflavored gelatin
• Salt and pepper
• 4 4 anchovy 4 anchovy fillets, rinsed, patted dry, and minced
• 1 1/2 1 1/2 pounds 85 93 or 93 percent lean ground turkey
• 1 1 large 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 4 4 garlic 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 1 (14.5-ounce) can 1 (14.5-ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes
• 1/2 1/2 teaspoon 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/8 1/8 teaspoon 1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 3 3 tablespoons 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 2 tablespoons 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1/4 1/4 cup 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
• sugar

Details

Adapted from cooksillustrated.com

Preparation

Step 1

Serves 4 to 6

Serve with spaghetti.

1. Microwave broth and mushrooms in covered bowl until steaming, about 1 minute. Let sit until softened, about 5 minutes. Drain mushrooms in fine-mesh strainer and reserve liquid.

2. Pulse bread in food processor until finely ground, 10 to 15 pulses; transfer bread crumbs to large bowl (do not wash processor bowl). Add Parmesan, parsley, gelatin, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper to bowl with bread crumbs and mix until thoroughly combined. Pulse mushrooms and half of anchovies in food processor until chopped fine, 10 to 15 pulses. Add mushroom mixture, turkey, egg, and half of garlic to bowl with bread-crumb mixture and mix with your hands until thoroughly combined. Divide mixture into 16 portions (about 1/4 cup each). Using your hands, roll each portion into ball; transfer meatballs to plate and refrigerate for 15 minutes.

3. Pulse tomatoes and their juice in food processor to coarse puree, 10 to 15 pulses. Combine oregano, pepper flakes, remaining anchovies, remaining garlic, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in small bowl; set aside.

4. Heat oil in 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add meatballs and cook until well browned all over, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer meatballs to paper towel–lined plate, leaving fat in skillet.

5. Add reserved anchovy mixture to skillet and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Increase heat to high; stir in tomato paste, reserved mushroom liquid, and pureed tomatoes; and bring to simmer. Return meatballs to skillet, reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and cook until meatballs register 160 degrees, 12 to 15 minutes, turning meatballs once. Transfer meatballs to platter, increase heat to high, and simmer sauce until slightly thickened, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in basil and season with sugar, salt, and pepper to taste. Pour sauce over meatballs and serve, passing extra Parmesan separately.

Get the story

Turkey meatballs have a justifiably bad reputation. But if you boost the flavors and treat ground turkey like, well, turkey, you get great results.

Ground Turkey TIps

DON'T SKIMP TOO MUCH ON FAT

We found that 99 percent lean commercial ground
turkey yielded meatballs that were irreparably dry
and grainy, so we recommend avoiding it. However,
our meatball recipe works well with both 93 and 85
percent lean ground turkey, so use whichever of these
you can find. (Packages usually state the fat percentage,
though it is not always displayed prominently;
another tip-off is that, typically, the darker the meat,
the higher the fat content.)

BUY STORE-GROUND IF YOU CAN

We developed our turkey meatball recipes using
commercial ground turkey, which tends to have a very
fine texture. If your supermarket or butcher grinds turkey
in house, buy that instead. Store-ground turkey is
typically more coarsely ground than commercial ground
turkey and will produce meatballs with a slightly less
compacted texture.

CONSIDER GRINDING YOUR OWN

If you have the time and inclination, we recommend
grinding your own turkey thighs for the very best
results: Start with one 2-pound turkey thigh, skinned,
boned, trimmed, and cut into 1/2-inch pieces. Place
pieces on large plate in single layer. Freeze until pieces
are very firm and hardened around edges, 35 to 45
minutes. Pulse one-third of turkey in food processor
until chopped into 1/8-inch pieces, 18 to 22 pulses,
stopping and redistributing turkey around bowl as
needed to ensure even grinding. Transfer turkey to
large bowl and repeat 2 times with remaining turkey.
Yields 1 1/2 pounds.

Serve with spaghetti.

1. Microwave broth and mushrooms in covered bowl until steaming, about 1 minute. Let sit until softened, about 5 minutes. Drain mushrooms in fine-mesh strainer and reserve liquid.

2. Pulse bread in food processor until finely ground, 10 to 15 pulses; transfer bread crumbs to large bowl (do not wash processor bowl). Add Parmesan, parsley, gelatin, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper to bowl with bread crumbs and mix until thoroughly combined. Pulse mushrooms and half of anchovies in food processor until chopped fine, 10 to 15 pulses. Add mushroom mixture, turkey, egg, and half of garlic to bowl with bread-crumb mixture and mix with your hands until thoroughly combined. Divide mixture into 16 portions (about 1/4 cup each). Using your hands, roll each portion into ball; transfer meatballs to plate and refrigerate for 15 minutes.

3. Pulse tomatoes and their juice in food processor to coarse puree, 10 to 15 pulses. Combine oregano, pepper flakes, remaining anchovies, remaining garlic, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in small bowl; set aside.

4. Heat oil in 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add meatballs and cook until well browned all over, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer meatballs to paper towel–lined plate, leaving fat in skillet.

5. Add reserved anchovy mixture to skillet and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Increase heat to high; stir in tomato paste, reserved mushroom liquid, and pureed tomatoes; and bring to simmer. Return meatballs to skillet, reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and cook until meatballs register 160 degrees, 12 to 15 minutes, turning meatballs once. Transfer meatballs to platter, increase heat to high, and simmer sauce until slightly thickened, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in basil and season with sugar, salt, and pepper to taste. Pour sauce over meatballs and serve, passing extra Parmesan separately.

Serve with spaghetti.