We all feel good about using turkey meat instead of ground beef. Lower fat...better for us...but sometimes they are sooo dang dry. Well to be honest, all the time. Flavorless yucky sawdust balls. Most are either hard as a rock (see below) or dry as sand. And people are always suggesting dipping sauce, That is code for this is gonna suck. Or provide hints to make it taste good by adding fat laden ingredients. So what is a girl to do? I have been on a mission.
First I add onion and garlic. Finely chopped or even grated onion. For 1.5 pounds of turkey I use a medium onion. Don't like onion then reduce that but increase slightly the next few ingredients. I leave mine raw. It will make sense later. Then the next secret ingredient is fat free plain yogurt. I usually start with a big heaping tablespoon. Salt and pepper and any other herb you love. And finally panko bread crumbs. A handful. If you love egg in your meatballs, add one and just increase the bread crumbs.
The mixture should feel gross...nothing like beef meatballs. This mixture should be looser and wetter and mushy. You should be able to make a ball but it needs to be loose and not firm. Now, ready for some more magic. A skillet on the stove on medium/high with olive oil...just enough to coat the bottom. Put the meat balls in the pan close together. They help each other stay together :-) Brown the top and bottom of each. Then, but the skillet in the oven. That's right, stick it in a 350 degree oven until the meatballs are done. The time to get done varies based on how big you made them. Use your thermometer to check them.
I use these as a base to alot of flavor profiles. Italian, mexican, thai..,turkey meatballs turn up at my house once a week. They also freeze wonderfully. Make a bunch and put them in a zip lock freezer bag and they are wonderful. Give it a try and let me know how it goes!
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