The Meatball Shop's Buffalo Chicken Balls

Add These to Your Tailgate Party

Meatball Shop owners Daniel Holzman and Michael Chernow discuss their new book.

From the kitchen of The Meatball Shop

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Servings:Over 8

Difficulty: Easy

Cook Time: 30-60 min

These are a great addition to any tailgate party.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

4 tablespoons (½ stick) unsalted butter

1/3 cup Frank's RedHot Sauce or any other favorite hot sauce

1 pound ground chicken, preferably thigh meat

1 large egg

½ celery stalk, minced

¾ cup bread crumbs

1 teaspoon salt

For the sauce:

¾ cup sour cream

1/3 cup crumbled Blue Cheese

1/3 cup whole milk

1/3 cup mayonnaise

1 teaspoon salt or more to taste

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

Cooking Directions

Preheat the oven to 450°F. Drizzle the vegetable oil into a 9×13-inch baking dish and use your hand to evenly coat the entire surface. Set aside.

Combine the butter and hot sauce in a small saucepan, and cook over low heat, whisking until the butter is melted and fully incorporated. Remove from the heat and allow the mixture to cool for 10 minutes.

Combine the hot sauce mixture, ground chicken, egg, celery, bread crumbs, and salt in a large mixing bowl and mix by hand until thoroughly incorporated.

Roll the mixture into round, ¾ -inch balls, making sure to pack the meat firmly. Place the balls in the prepared baking dish, being careful to line them up snugly and in even rows vertically and horizontally to form a grid. The meatballs should be touching one another.

Roast for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the meatballs are firm and cooked through. A meat thermometer inserted into the center of a meatball should read 165°F.

Allow the meatballs to cool for 5 minutes in the baking dish before serving.

For the blue cheese dressing:

Place the sour cream, blue cheese, milk, mayonnaise, salt, and vinegar in a medium bowl and whisk thoroughly until completely combined. Taste and adjust the seasoning, if desired.

This recipe was styled by chef Karen Pickus for Good Morning America.

From the book, THE MEATBALL SHOP COOKBOOK by Daniel Holzman and Michael Chernow. Copyright (c) 2011 by Michael Holzman and Daniel Chernow. Reprinted by arrangement with Ballantine Books, an imprint of The Random House Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc. All rights reserved."