A crumbling meatloaf and wishlist

Summer, busy, really busy.

Prodded by the paying customers, Ross (hey man, go eat some Memphis bbq and stop reading blogs) suggested I post something to get those jars of jam below the fold.

Tonight was a special night, our dinner to commemorate Bastille Day.  This is our 10th anniversary of the day we landed in Columbus; it also marks another very special event.  Curious, aren't you?

I planned a meatloaf, a relatively rare and special dinner for us.  I usually add cracked wheat and then the usual suspects found in meatloaf (onion, fresh herbs, egg, a few bread crumbs, milk, some tomato puree, etc.) and then cook in the kettle.  It turned into a crumble - the whole wheat incorporation tastes great, gives a whole grain punch, but sometimes causes a less stable loaf.  Regardless, we had it with grilled asparagus and yellow squash.   Despite being a less than favorable texture, the smokiness was killer.

What's coming on weber_cam?
1. Eons ago, weber cam was intended to be a real webcam to watch my grill while I was in work (to check on it for safety's sake).  I'm contemplating this via ustream.tv to do some ribs for a weeknight.
2. More Firedome (Kate, I haven't forgotten you!).
3. Giada's limoncello recipe looks pretty easy and good, peeling the lemon looks like the tricky part.
4. Mac's merguez is killing me, gotta try it soon.  Merguez is heaven, I'll be scouting out some lamb shoulder at Mediterranean Food Imports for this.
5. Brining a pork shoulder?  This one I did.  I tried a 7 lb brined butt vs a 5 lb non-brined.  The 5-lber was actually better.  Brining provided negligible benefit.  I was surprised.  May try injection sometime.
6. Sweeet 'n sour pickled anything.

That's it for now ...

Turkey Meatballs (a rewritten post from 2004)

Ever since Frankie was a teeny, tiny baby, she liked turkey meatballs. We make them often but I've learned a lot since I first started making them and they're better than ever. I decided to rewrite the post.

The significant observations that have guided my new, almost finished, master recipe for Turkey Meatballs are ...

• Grind (size) is crucial. Andrew has guided me in the craft of Charcuterie and recommends a coarse grind in most sausage preparations (kielbasa, sausage, etc.); his guess is the more coarse the grind, the less likely it is to dry out during cooking. I think he's spot-on; the few sausage preps I've done have come out exceptional. Just as significant, the coarseness of the grind contributes greatly to mouthfeel. There's an Ohio brand of ground turkey sold frozen that is ground really fine. It tastes mealy when cooked. When I bought some coarsely ground 93/7 turkey the other day it was infinitely better when cooked in this recipe. A coarse grind definitely wins. Thanks for the tip Andrew.

• When I was buying that super fine grind stuff, not knowing any better, I changed the mouthfeel by adding cracked wheat or bulgur. Far from a new method, cracked wheat has been added to ground lamb in kibbe forever, but it's not commonly used in combination with ground turkey. The cracked wheat made that turkey taste good. Don't worry, the hard nuggets of grain hydrate and soften in the mixture and upon cooking. There is no discernible taste or texture of the wheat. And, it's whole grain causing the meatball to be a pretty darn complete meal with protein, complex carbs and some fat all in one tasty little nugget of goodness.

• Like any meatball (traditionally sirloin), don't handle the thing much. Compress these things together as gingerly as a biscuit. Too much man-handling and it's gonna be tough.

• Future directions. Soon, I'd like to grind my own turkey thighs. It should be outstanding - another post.

That's it. Here's the recipe. I make them, freeze them on a cookie sheet and the next morning put them in a ziploc bag for cooking in tomato sauce (I don't fry meatballs, I cook them slowly in tomato sauce - any other method is just wrong).

Turkey Meatballs
Put the following in a bowl
Coarse ground turkey, 1 lb, highest fat content you can find
cracked wheat or bulgur, 1/2 C
bread crumbs, fine, 1/4 C
milk, 1/4 C
finely minced onion, 1/4 C
a few fine slivers of garlic
reggiano, 1/4 C (optional)
eggs, 2
oregano, dried, 2 T
salt, 1 t (I almost always salt 1% by weight, here, 5 g / 500 grams ingredients)
pepper, to taste

Put everything in a bowl, using your hands, gently fold everything together without working it too much. Form into whatever size meatball you like (we like golf ball sized). That's it.

I may modify quantities of cracked wheat and bread crumbs as I remake them. Toss a few frozen ones in tomato sauce and let simmer gently an hour or so. You'll eat the leftovers for breakfast.

Related articles

• Turkey Meatballs with Sweet and Sour Sauce (savoringeverybite.wordpress.com)
• Meatballs: Let's go round again (independent.co.uk)