What to Do with Leftover Turkey? Make These Easy Turkey Meatballs!

ByBrooke

We realized just a couple Thanksgivings ago that we are just not a turkey-loving family. I do love all of the sides served at Thanksgiving, but the turkey can be hit or miss. Too dry, not enough flavor, and all together too much work. So we decided to forego baking a turkey as a family for our Thanksgiving. But then we attend extended family gathers and SOMEHOW, every year, we still end up with a ton of leftover turkey given to us by the host, who also didn’t want their leftover turkey. Luckily, I had this recipe saved on my computer from my college days. I took a cooking class and we tried all kinds of recipes and I pocketed the ones I knew I would make again someday. So without further adieu, here is your turkey meatball recipe for the day you realize you didn’t want all of the leftover turkey from the party either.

Ingredients

Meatballs

  • 1.5 pounds ground turkey (you can buy ground turkey if you don’t have leftover turkey. I just throw my turkey in a food processor to grind it smaller.)
  • 1/4 cup milk
  • 1/4 cup breadcrumbs
  • 2 cloves minced garlic
  • 2 tsp minced fresh ginger
  • 2 Tbs minced green onion
  • 2 Tbs soy sauce
  • dash of salt/pepper

Sauce

  • 1.5 tsp sesame oil
  • 1.5 tsp olive oil
  • 2 cloves minced garlic
  • 1 tsp minced ginger
  • 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
  • 3/4 cup orange marmalade
  • 1/4 cup hoisin sauce

If you are using raw ground turkey, preheat the oven to 500. If you are using COOKED turkey, preheat to 400. In a large bowl, stir together the milk and breadcrumbs. Then add all meatball ingredients. Mic thoroughly and form 1 inch balls with your hands. If you are having trouble forming balls due to it being a little dry, you can add a dash of water. Place on a grease baking sheet. For RAW turkey, bake for 12-15 minutes. For COOKED turkey, bake for 10 minutes. While the meatballs are baking, prepare the sauce.

In a large sauce pan, add the olive oil and sesame oil to the pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and ginger and stir occasionally, until it is golden brown. Add the red pepper flakes, orange marmalade, and hoisin sauce and stir until sauce is slightly thickened. When the meatballs are done, add them to the sauce pan and gently toss them in the sauce until they are coated. We love to serve this over rice!

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