Our turkey meatballs rival those made from beef or pork, thanks to a few test kitchen tricks. We start with 93 or 85 percent lean turkey; the 99 percent lean type didn’t have enough fat to create a palatable meatball. Next, we add an egg and fresh bread crumbs (instead of a panade, which made the meatballs too wet) to help bind the meat. We also add a small amount of unflavored gelatin, which mitigates graininess by trapping moisture and giving the meatballs a juicy mouthfeel. To boost meaty flavor, we add glutamate-rich ingredients such as Parmesan cheese, anchovies, and rehydrated dried shiitake mushrooms. These meatballs are also flavored with scallions, soy sauce, white pepper, and sesame oil.
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups chicken broth
- ½ ounce dried shiitake mushrooms
- 2 slices hearty white sandwich bread - torn into 1-inch pieces
- 1 ounce Parmesan cheese - grated (½ cup)
- 6 scallions - white parts minced, green parts sliced thin on bias
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 2 ½ teaspoons unflavored gelatin
- salt
- 1 ½ teaspoons white pepper
- 2 anchovy fillets - rinsed and patted dry
- 1 ½ pounds 85 or 93 percent lean ground turkey
- 1 large egg - lightly beaten
- 2 tablespoons water
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 cloves garlic - minced
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
Instructions
Prepare the mushrooms:
- 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 the liquid.
Prepare the bread crumbs:
- Pulse the bread in a food processor until finely ground, 10 to 15 pulses; transfer the bread crumbs to a large bowl (do not wash processor bowl).
- Add the Parmesan, scallion whites, half of the scallion greens, sugar, 1 ½ teaspoons of gelatin, 1 teaspoon of salt, and 1 teaspoon white pepper to the bowl with the bread crumbs and mix until thoroughly combined.
Make the meatballs:
- Pulse the mushrooms and anchovies in the food processor until chopped fine, 10 to 15 pulses.
- Add the mushroom mixture, turkey, and egg to bowl with the bread-crumb mixture and mix with your hands until thoroughly combined.
- Divide the mixture into 16 portions using a #16 portion scoop, (about ¼ cup each).
- Using your hands, roll each portion into ball.
- Transfer the meatballs to a plate and refrigerate for 15 minutes.
Prepare the gelatin and brown the meatballs:
- Sprinkle remaining 1 teaspoon gelatin over water in a bowl and let stand until the gelatin softens, about 5 minutes.
- Heat vegetable oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering.
- Add the meatballs and cook until well browned all over, 5 to 7 minutes.
- Transfer the meatballs to a paper towel–lined plate, leaving the fat in the skillet.
Make the sauce:
- Add garlic to the skillet and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
- Increase the heat to high, stir in the soy sauce, sesame oil, reserved mushroom liquid, gelatin mixture, and remaining ½ teaspoon of white pepper and bring to a simmer.
Finish and serve:
- Return the meatballs to the skillet, reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and cook until meatballs register 160 degrees, 12 to 15 minutes, turning the meatballs once.
- Transfer the meatballs to a platter.
- Season the sauce with salt to taste, pour over the meatballs, garnish with remaining scallion greens, and serve.