Turkey Meatballs

My first recipe post!!

For those that know me, they know that this is one of my most common/favourite foods to make because well it’s easy, convenient, and it tastes good. I remember passing minced turkey in the supermarket and thinking I can make a meatballs version of this. Before that I had never bought or even prepared minced turkey so I decided to try it out.

I searched online for examples on how to prepare minced turkey and then I went on to look for meatball recipes. Every recipe I found for meatballs used flour or dairy products to bind the meat, but at the time I was following a paleo diet [paleo aka “caveman diet” basically excludes any dairy and grain products] so I was trying to avoid using those ingredients.

At first I used ground flax seed (which is a great substitute for breadcrumbs) and discovered that the meat stuck together pretty well. Needless to say, I began to play around with other ingredients to bind the meat and discovered that spinach is the best replacement.

Long story short, I’m sharing with you how to prepare gluten free, wheat free and dairy free turkey meatballs.

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*Disclaimer*

I love spicy foods so I added more spices than the average. If you prefer mild-flavoured foods it’s perfectly fine to omit these ingredients.
I chose Hickory BBQ sauce and jerk as my sauce combination but which sauce, or even using a sauce is completely up to you.

 

Ingredients:

• A package of minced turkey
• 1/2 tsp (2 ml) of salt and pepper
• 1/2 tbsp (7 ml) of dried oregano leaves
• 1/2 tsp (2 ml) of ground cumin
• 1 tbsp (15 ml)  of red chili flakes
• 1/2 tbsp (7 ml) of rosemary leaves
• 1/2 tbsp (7 ml) of Cool Runnings Caribbean spice and roasted garlic
• 1/2  tbsp (7ml) of Cool Runnings garlic pepper and herbs
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1/2 half of purple (or white) onion, chopped
• 3 sprigs of thyme
• Small bunch of parsley leaves, minced
• A handful of spinach, diced*
• 2 tbsps of olive oil, for frying

Sauce:

• 3 tbsps (45 ml) of Kraft Hickory BBQ sauce
• 1 tsp (5 ml) of Karribean Flavours Hot & Spicy Jerk sauce

Directions:

1. Place minced turkey in a bowl and add all of the dry ingredients on top of the meat (in no particular order). Chop the onions, garlic and spinach and place them in the same bowl. Mix all the contents together with a spoon until mixture becomes packed together. Preheat frying pan at medium-high heat with olive oil.
2. Take a tablespoon size of the meat and use your hands to form it into a round shape.
3. Place all of the turkey meatballs into the frying pan and let it cook on each side for approximately 8-10 minutes, adding more olive oil if needed.
4. In a separate bowl, take the hickory bbq sauce with the jerk sauce and mix it together – set aside.
5. Test the meat to see if its cooked by piercing it with a fork. If the fork comes out dry it is done. You may have to turn the meat on the side to make sure it’s completely cooked. Once the meat is done put the heat on low.
6. Take the sauce mixture and pour it over the meatballs. Coat the sauce on both sides of the meatballs and let it simmer on low heat until the sauce evaporates.

I love to eat this with rice or vegetables. It can last a little over a week in the fridge which makes it great for meal prep.

Enjoy!