Ginger Turkey Meatballs with Soy Dipping Sauce

Meatballs! Turkey meatballs can sometimes be dry and gross, They don't have the moisture innate in a beef or pork meatball. If you make them right, however, they can be extra delicious. The key, to me, is to make them a little bit more like a tiny round meatloaf in consistency.



This recipe is adapted from one I found on smitten kitchen. Instead of adding the ginger to the sauce, I added it directly to the meat mixture. This made for a more powerful ginger flavor in the meat balls. The ginger made them a bit spicy which was totally awesome. The meatball itself isn't salty, but the sauce is salty-sweet which pairs really well with the spiciness of the meatball.

Ginger Turkey Meatballs with Soy Dipping Sauce 

Ingredients

1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup rice wine (mirin)
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 cup soy sauce

1 lb lean ground turkey
4" piece of ginger peeled
3 scallions
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1 egg
1/4 cup panko crumbs
vegetable oil

Directions

In a small saucepan, mix the brown sugar and water. Heat over medium heat until mixed. Add in mirin, soy sauce and garlic powder. Stirring frequently, let the the mixture simmer for about half an hour until thickened.

Add ginger and scallions to a food processor. Mix until ginger and scallions are finely chopped.  Mix ginger and scallions into the ground turkey. Stir in soy sauce and mix in the egg and panko crumbs.

Put a good amount of vegetable oil (about a 1/4" deep) into a deep skillet and heat over medium high heat. Form about tablespoon size balls of meat mixture. Place balls in batches into the oil (leave yourself enough room to turn the meatballs). Brown on every side and remove to a baking sheet. Place the baking sheet in the oven and set to 200 degrees (to keep them hot while you cook the rest of the meatballs).

Serve with your dipping sauce on the side.