I love trying out new recipes on my book club…my friends are always extremely receptive…unlike my family, they will try anything. We read and discussed a marvelous book about the assassination of President Garfield…and when researching him, I found that his favorite dish was squirrel. I had plenty of offers to drop off some road kill so I could make my “squirrel meatballs.” Only one skeptical friend thought I actually used squirrel in these meatballs…nope, ground chicken is more my style!
These mini meatballs are flavored with hot sauce and a generous amount of butter, but they are baked not fried…if that makes you feel any better. They are served with a lovely blue cheese dressing…and everyone wanted this recipe. Perfect for football gatherings or any cocktail party, these have a lovely kick but not overly spicy. And the blue cheese is the perfect complement. If you’re hosting a New Year’s Eve party, give these a try!
Ingredients
- Adapted from Epicurious and The Meatball Shop Cookbook
- Meatballs:
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
- 1/3 cup Frank’s RedHot Sauce or any other favorite hot sauce
- 1 pound ground chicken, preferably thigh meat
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 celery stalk, minced
- 3/4 cup bread crumbs
- 1 teaspoon salt
- Blue Cheese Sauce:
- 3/4 cup sour cream
- 1/3 cup crumbled Blue Cheese
- 1/3 cup whole milk
- 1/3 cup mayonnaise
- 1 teaspoon salt or more to taste
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
Instructions
- To make the meatballs:
- Preheat the oven to 450°F. Drizzle the vegetable oil into a 9×13-inch baking dish and use your hand to evenly coat the entire surface. Set aside.
- Combine the butter and hot sauce in a small saucepan, and cook over low heat, whisking until the butter is melted and fully incorporated. Remove from the heat and allow the mixture to cool for 10 minutes.
- Combine the hot sauce mixture, ground chicken, egg, celery, bread crumbs, and salt in a large mixing bowl and mix by hand until thoroughly incorporated.
- Roll the mixture into round, 3/4 -inch balls, making sure to pack the meat firmly. Place the balls in the prepared baking dish, being careful to line them up snugly and in even rows vertically and horizontally to form a grid. The meatballs should be touching one another.
- Roast for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the meatballs are firm and cooked through. A meat thermometer inserted into the center of a meatball should read 165°F.
- Allow the meatballs to cool for 5 minutes in the baking dish before serving. Serve with blue cheese sauce.
- To make the blue cheese sauce:
- Place the sour cream, blue cheese, milk, mayonnaise, salt, and vinegar in a medium bowl and whisk thoroughly until completely combined. Taste and adjust the seasoning, if desired.
Linked to:
Katherine Martinelli’s Super Bowl Blog Hop~
{ 43 comments… read them below or add one }
Lovely post, Lizzy! I heard squirrel does taste like chicken indeed, and people in this parts of the country still enjoy it…:) Well, those meatballs do look delicious. And good thing I can enjoy it just by looking: can’r have anymore food for another week, I think…
Know what?? I’m seriously thinking to have a book club too
. How many times do you meet??? And for the first time I’m going to cook this uffalo chicken meatballs…have a nice day, xoxoxxo, Flavia
Bet these were a huge hit! I know the dips and patties we eat are, these are perfect for a party we would love this version! Hope you had a great holiday!
I love wings so I know these would be great:@)
Serving “squirrel” meatballs is definitely a great way to get a book club discussion started!
I’ve never been a big fan of nibbling on wings so I love that you’ve captured all the Buffalo flavors into meatballs. Yum!
I love these meatballs dear Lizzy, hope you had a nice and lovely Christmas!
Right up my alley!! Whoa!
same here, my family likes the staples, my friends like the fringe benefits of me and my cooking blog!!! anne
We’re big buffalo chicken fans here, so bring it!
They look fingerlicking, Lizzy.
Both the meatballs and the blue cheese dressing sound delicious. Your book club is very, very lucky.
You just have to say meatballs and you know I would love these… YUM!
Lovely snack! Both meatballs and sauce sound great!
Who doesnt love meatballs? Eapecially with these combination and blue cheese dip, YUMMS!! So glad the excessive eating is slowing down, these will be great for a light lunch.
Cant wait to try these. So, if Jim and I move in down the street, can I be in your bookclub too? Hahahahaha!
Liz, these sound amazing! Glad you didn’t go with the squirrel thing.
Your photos are yummy!!
Looks and sounds wonderful, Liz! My boys would be over the moon crazy for these.
I’ve never heard of anyone eating squirrel before…interesting….
I’m always looking for new things to make with ground chicken….love these and have to give them a try!
oh man, these sound so so good!! these definitely need to be made here
your book club is so lucky to have you!
These would be so, so perfect for New Years!
Hi Liz, may all the sweet magic of Christmas conspire to gladden your heart & fill every desire. Merry X’mas with love from Shirley’s Luxury Haven! xoxo
Oh my god! Lizzy! These are divine! Perfect New Years apps!
Terrific job with these meatballs. What a good idea for twist on the usual wings and blue cheese! Have a wonderful New Year!
These meatballs sound and look delicious. I am going to make them for New Years. Thanks for sharing.
Mmmmm – these look good!!! Love the idea of meat ball wings!
Oh, yum-me! Great finger food for New Year’s. Definitely not a squirrelly recipe!
My husband just got wind of this recipe and I know what I will be making this weekend!
These sound fabulous, Liz! Pinning and planning on making next week
These sound fabulous, Liz! Pinning and planning on making next week
Lizzy, I am definitely making these for New Years Eve..if I get over the flu by then! It’s a good sign that these made my mouth water and stomach growl! I want to make a double batch so I can have a whole batch to myself!!
Squirrel meatballs ?! That’s a great conversation starters ! lol They look fantastic and I bet it tastes divine as well
I’ve been out of the blog loop for a few weeks. Lots of kids and grandkids to love and spend time with. These meatballls look delicious. Bleu cheese is a winner in most anything. Can’t wait to check out all the yummy things you have been making!
These look so delicious…I know they would be a big hit in my house!
Lizzy, these are party perfect! Definitely going to give them a try for my next get together! Hope you had a wonderful Christmas! Wishing you & your family a healthy & happy new year!!
These are wonderful! The mix was a little loose, so I added a little more breadcrumbs and refrigerated the mix prior to baking. Will keep these in the recipe file!!!
Great tips, Chris. Thanks for sharing…and I’m delighted you enjoyed these!
These look addicting! I made some cocktail meatballs for NYE, but I made the mistake of using frozen meatballs and while I liked the glaze, the meatballs were terrible. Ugh.
How delicious! This would be the perfect appetizer for playoff season! Thank you so much for sharing! I hope you have a beautiful beginning to 2013. Full of lots of love, good food, and peace!
The Meatball Shop in NYC has these meatballs on their menu and in their cookbook (in fact I think the recipe originally came from them). I’ve eaten them at the restaurant and they are sooooo good. Definitely a great party food that will be on a future football menu in my house
Happy New Year!
Thank god you have your book club to appreciate your food. These look awesome. I am so glad you did not use squirrel lol but I know o9f other recipe who list it as a more original to the recipe ingredient.
You should give credit to the people who actually created this recipie it’s the meatball shop in New York
Thank you for the information…I got the recipe from a friend who cited Epicurious. I’ve adjusted my recipe to give full credit.