Turkey meatballs with sweet chili and a pickle pile
Baked, not fried, and buried under quick-pickled carrot and cucumber.
At a Glance
Story
Turkey has no fat to hide behind, so meatballs made from it go dry the moment you overwork them. Mix with your fingertips only until it just holds, then stop, even though it will look underdone. Panko soaked in the aromatics helps, and baking rather than frying keeps the outside from setting before the middle is warm.
Ingredients
- 10 oz ground turkey
- ½ cup long grain white rice
- ¼ cup panko breadcrumbs
- 3 cloves garlicfinely chopped
- 1 tbsp gingerfinely chopped
- 2 scallionsfinely sliced
- 2 carrotscoarsely grated
- 1 Persian cucumberhalved and thinly sliced
- 1 jalapeñoseeded and thinly sliced
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 3 tbsp sweet chili sauce
- 2 tbsp mayonnaiseoptional, stir it into the chili sauce or leave it out entirely
- 3 tbsp roasted peanutsroughly chopped
- neutral oilsalt, pepper
Method
The pickle is not a garnish. It is half the dish, it takes ten minutes, and it should be made first so it has time to slacken.
- Oven to 450°F. Line a sheet pan with foil.
- Whisk the sugar and vinegar until dissolved, season, then add the carrots, cucumber and jalapeño. Leave to marinate, stirring when you pass, at least 10 minutes.
- Rinse the rice, then cook it with a big pinch of salt and 1 cup of water. Boil, drop to low, lid on, 13 to 15 minutes. Fluff and cover.
- Combine the turkey, panko, garlic, ginger and scallions. Season, then mix with your fingertips only until it just coheres. Shape into 10 tightly packed balls and set them on the pan.
- Bake 14 to 16 minutes, until browned and cooked through to 165°F.
- Stir the mayonnaise into the sweet chili sauce, or don't. Rice into bowls, meatballs on top, the drained pickle over them, sauce drizzled across, then the peanuts.
The pickling liquid left in the bowl is worth drinking, though not in company.
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