Belly Up to the Bar: Buffalo Chicken Meatballs

Posted on October 21, 2014 by Miriam Zelinsky

Is there anything more satisfying than digging into a big pile of buffalo chicken wings? Getting all that sticky sauce stuck to your face and fingers is a truly primal experience. If I really get into it I can imagine back to the time of the caveman and tearing apart the meat and sucking on the bones mmmmmmm.

Now that I am out of that food coma, let me cut to the chase. I really don’t want to be stained orange or have sauce smudges all over my face when out on a date or wearing my LJP accessories. And to be honest, I don’t love the fact that I need to spend more time at the gym after eating that pile of wings. Therefore, we have taken all the flavorful goodness of hot wings and created hot balls! Um…perhaps the double entendre is a bit unappetizing? These hot. …buffalo chicken balls have the heat, the sauce, the celery and blue cheese all wrapped up into one neat little package. And for those you can’t do buffalo without a dipping sauce, you can have a double dose of blue cheese, inside and out.

I will warn you though that this sauce is so good, I can’t guarantee that you won’t want to lick the plate. What you do behind closed doors is your own affair, no judgment!

Cool and refreshing is my top priority for beer with my wings. Your typical trashy lite beer will probably do the trick but even a Corona won’t compete with the spicy and sweet sauce.

--M. Perrelli

Buffalo Chicken Balls

Makes 20-25

Notes: I like my vegetables grated or microplaned because I want to make sure I only bite into cheese crumbles not raw veg. If you like a little more texture then feel free to chop more coarsely but you may need less breadcrumbs. Also one of my favorite wing joints does a sauce called Honey Hot, that I have recreated here. It just sweetens up the sauce a little and cuts down on the heat. Use what you like. Feel free to use bottled blue cheese dressing too.

1 lb ground chicken

2 stalks celery, chopped or grated

¼ onion, chopped or grated

salt and pepper

½ cup blue cheese crumbles (I used gorgonzola)

¾ cup more or less of seasoned breadcrumbs (you want to use the least amount possible to bind the meat

4 tbsp butter

1/3 cup hot sauce

2 tbsp honey

½ cup Greek yogurt

2 tsbp light mayo

¼ up blue cheese

pepper

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

2) In a bowl combine the top section of ingredients and mix until uniformly combined

3) Line a baking sheet with foil and spray or brush with neutral oil. This will help them not stick

4) Using a small ice cream scoop or a tablespoon and your hands, form the meat mixture into golf ball sized spheres

5) Place the balls on the sheet as you go and bake them 20 minutes or until cooked through.

6) While the balls are cooking make the sauce. On the stove melt the butter and add the hot sauce and honey. Stir to combine and set aside. You want this to stay warm so you can toss the hot balls in it when they are done.

7) Make a dipping sauce using the last section of ingredients above. If it is too stiff add a splash of water or milk to the combined mixture. Toss balls in hot sauce and serve with the dipping sauce.

Happy 80th Birthday to the Bloody Mary! →