partyfood | Gourmet from the galley!

These crumb chicken meatballs stuffed with cream cheese and bacon are ‘ball number two’ that has evolved from the idea of a ‘crumbed-ball-off’. Number one of the crumbed balls was Turkey Balls with Camembert and Cranberry Red Wine Sauce.

To recap where this idea came from – after Christmas this year, while sailing down Australia’s east coast, we decided to have a ‘crumbed-ball-off’. My son, Jedd, kick-started the idea by saying he would make a turkey and camembert crumbed meatball. Dwayne then piped up that he was going to make a crumbed meatball also.

It soon became known as the “crumbed-ball-off”. All three of us were going to make a crumbed meatball and pick the best one. The winner was not going to have to cook for a week. The “crumbed-ball-off” never happened as Jedd flew back to Adelaide sooner than expected. This crumbed chicken ball was my creation which I came up with by simply using ingredients already in my fridge that I needed to use up. It is super tasty, though.

four chicken meatballs served with salad

Ingredients

For filling
1 rasher of bacon, rind removed and finely chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 spring onion, finely chopped
1 Tablespoon of finely chopped sun-dried tomato
1 Tablespoon of finely chopped fresh basil
150ml cream cheese

For chicken meatball
1kg chicken mince
100ml fine bread crumbs
1 teaspoon cracked black pepper

For coating the chicken ball
1 Cup of fine bread crumbs

Method

To make the cream cheese filling. Mix all ingredients well. Put the mixture into a container or wrap it in foil. Refrigerate until firm (about 1 hour).

Mix the ingredient for the meatballs well using your hands.

Place a large tablespoon of chicken on your palm and flatten. Using a melon scoop or a teaspoon, scoop about 1 tsp of cream cheese mix and place in the middle of the flattened chicken.

Shape chicken around the cheese and roll into a ball. Coat the chicken ball with crumbs and place it on a plate. Repeat with the remaining chicken mince.

Refrigerate for at least 1/2 hour (or longer).

Cook the chicken balls

Heat the oil in a deep fryer or a saucepan, and heat oil to 190c. When the oil is at the correct temperature, add the balls in batches. Deep fry for 3-4 minutes until golden brown. Remove the chicken balls from the oil with a slotted spoon and place on a paper towel-lined plate to drain.

Serve with salad or vegetables. I served mine with a simple salad of capsicum, cucumber, tomato, olives and sun-dried tomato.

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This was my second pick as a popular dish from the United Kingdom. We love travelling, and we love food… the two go hand in hand for us. Eating is one of our favourite ways to explore the culture of a country we visit. When we arrived in London, we ask Dwayne’s cousin, whom we were staying with, what is something we should try while in England. Without hesitation, he said the scotch egg. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to eat scotch egg in London, but as soon as I could, I made my own. This is a simple way to make this yummy treat and the quail eggs make it perfect finger food for a party.

Ingredients

18 – 24 quail eggs*
500g fat pork sausages**
plain flour
1 egg, beaten with a splash of milk
dry bread crumbs
oil for frying

Method

Cook the quail eggs. Place the eggs in a saucepan and cover with water. Add a pinch of baking soda to make it easier to peel. Set the heat to high, and once the water begins to simmer, roll the eggs around in the pot with a chopstick. This will move the yolk into the centre of the egg.

Bring the water to a boil, boil for 4 minutes. Rinse the eggs in cold water and drain. Put the lid on the pot and gently roll eggs around in the pot to crack the eggshells. Carefully peel eggs. Set aside.

Place the flour, egg and crumbs into separate bowls.

Squeeze the pork sausage meat out of the casings and divide into the portions you need. I did 24 eggs with a thin layer of sausage coating each. You can easily make the pork thicker on each egg by reducing the number of eggs you use.

Dust the eggs with the flour.

Using damp hands wrap the sausage around the egg. Dip the sausage wrapped eggs into the beaten egg and then coat in bread crumbs.

Heat oil in a deep pan and deep fry the coated eggs until golden brown (approximately 2 minutes). Drain on a paper towel.

Serve the eggs hot with a selection of sauces. They are also yummy when cold.

Notes
I have used tinned quail eggs before. They are just as good and you don’t need to peel.
** Good quality pork sausage. Try Cumberland or Lincolnshire.

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Gourmet from the galley!

Tag Archives: partyfood

Crumbed Chicken Balls with cream cheese & bacon

Quail Scotch Eggs

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