Go Back
Print

Chicken Piccata Meatballs

Versatile Meatballs and a bright lemony sauce works great over pasta or any carb you want!

Course Main Course
Cuisine Italian
Keyword chicken, lemon, meatballs, piccata
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Servings 4

Ingredients

  • 2 lb or 900 grams ground chicken
  • 1 cup fresh breadcrumbs if you don't have fresh bread crumbs, just tear your bread of choice and whiz it through a food processor
  • 1 cup finely grated parmesan cheese use fresh if at all possible
  • 4 minced garlic cloves
  • 1 tbsp Italian seasoning
  • 1 tsp black pepper
  • 1 tsp chili flakes optional
  • 2 large eggs beaten
  • 1-2 tbsp milk if needed

Piccata Sauce

  • 5 Tbsp butter divided
  • 2 garlic minced cloves
  • 1/4 cup dry white wine
  • 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
  • 1/4 cup chicken stock a great time to use my Faux Chicken Bouillon powder
  • 1 preserved lemon slice chopped finely (about 1 heaping tbsp)
  • 2 tbsp capers roughly chopped
  • 1 tsp each salt and pepper
  • 2-3 dashes of hot sauce
  • 2 tbsp parsley chopped

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 450°F.

  2. In a large bowl add the chicken, breadcrumbs, parmesan, garlic, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper and chili flakes if using.

  3. In a small bowl or cup roughly whisk the eggs together. Pour these over everything in the large bowl and bring it together gently, using only your fingers. If you find it a little dry (depending on the humidity of the day) you can add the milk 1 tbsp at a time.

  4. To confirm that they are seasoned to your liking, break off a small amount to make a pattie about the size of a quarter. Sauté until cooked through over medium high heat. Once cooled enough, eat it to see if you like the flavour. If not, you can adjust the seasoning to the entire mixture before making the meatballs.

  5. Using dampened hands, roll the mixture into 16 to 18 balls. Lay them onto a parchment or wax paper lined baking sheet. From here you can either freeze the baking sheet until the meatballs are frozen and can be transferred to a freezer bag. Or you can bake off what you want to use right away.

  6. To bake, place on a baking sheet as many as you want to use (2-3 per person) and place on centre rack of your pre-heated oven.
  7. Roast meatballs for 15 min on centre rack. Turn heat up to 500°F and brush meatballs with olive oil. Cook for another 5 minutes. If you find that you would like more colour, brush on a little more oil and turn the oven to broil. But keep a close eye on them.

Piccata Sauce

  1. While the meatballs are baking you can prepare the sauce.
  2. In a medium to large skillet, warm 1 tbsp of butter over medium high heat. Add the garlic and sauté, stirring constantly till softened.
  3. Add the white wine and lemon juice and reduce the heat to a good simmer. Cook till slightly reduced, about 5 minutes. Add the stock and combine well, stirring for another 3 minutes or so.

  4. Turn off the heat and stir in the remaining 4 tbsp butter. Whisk till melted through. Stir in the preserved lemon, capers, salt and pepper and hot sauce if using. Pour this over the meatballs and carb of choice. Scatter the parsley over it all.

Recipe Notes

I say that this recipe serves 4.  The meatballs are enough for 8.  But if you only want to serve 4, still make all of the meatball recipe, it's worth having the extra in the freezer.

If you want to serve all the meatballs at once, double the sauce.

This is a great time to use my Faux Chicken Bouillon Powder, instead of having to open up a tetra-pack of stock. See here for one of the best kitchen pantry staples you will use all the time.

The preserved lemon is optional, but really adds great depth of flavour.

This recipe is a loose riff on a recipe by The Modern Proper