Chermoula Chicken Boulettes AKA Paleo Chicken Balls on Sticks with Magic Sauce

Chermoula sauce is like fairy dust of the kitchen, it turns all it touches into magic food. Chermoula is a North African blend of warm spices, citrus and herbs in oil which is drizzled on everything from fish to meat and veggies. It can be used as a marinade, or a dressing. And I always wish I made a double batch, so I can drizzle its magical powers on everything. 

The chicken meatballs are so simple it is almost primitive cooking, two ingredients. Without the chermoula sauce they are almost unremarkable. Organic turkey or chicken is a good choice for all the reasons we know, environmental, health,  antibiotics, nutrition and animal rights. But also know that the flavors of the poultry are highlighted here, and it is a good time to choose the most happy organic chicken. 

This is a great dish if you are feeding friends who may or may not be gluten free, egg free or dairy free, or paleo! Obviously not a dish for vegetarians, but if you were doing a big party, I would stick some mushrooms or tofu on other skewers and let the vegetarians get some chermoula loving too.

Ground turkey is easy to find where I live, ground chicken less so. Both work. A butcher will often grind it for you, or in a pinch use a food processor to mince larger pieces of meat.

Anyway, now you have your ground or minced chicken. Mix it with the salt and form compact 1.5 inch balls of the chicken mixture. Thread them on metal or soaked wooden skewers. Place them to rest on a foil lined baking tray to rest while the chermoula sauce is made.

Place garlic, cilantro or parsley, lemon zest, paprika, chili powder, cumin, and olive oil into a blender. A blender really does a better job here than a food processor. If you live an electronics free life, do it old school with a mortar and pestle, adding oil in bit by bit as the herbs get bashed up. The sauce is not an emulsion, spices and herbs will settle out to the bottom giving it a chunky look. The flavors will blossom over time.

Drizzle just a bit of the chermoula on the uncooked meatballs. 

If your outdoor grill is covered in a snowy glacier, cook them under the broiler in your stove. With the broiler on high, line up the chicken skewers. Turning as they brown, keep a close eye on them. If your wooden skewers begin to char, cover them with some foil. 

The balls take about 10 to 12 minutes to cook through. Baste them occasionally with more sauce, or scoop up the pan drippings and use that. A thermometer at the interior should read 170° when the balls are throughly cooked.  

Remove to a plate and drizzle that chermoula sauce over them like crazy. 

Note: For individual appetizers, these can be cooked under a broiler in the same manner without the skewers. After the balls are cooked, plate up with some toothpicks. 

Chermoula Chicken Boulettes

16 medium meatballs, 4-5 servings

For the chermoula sauce:

4 cloves garlic

1/2 cup cilantro or parsley

zest of 1 lemon

2 teaspoons paprika

1 teaspoon chili powder

3/4 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 cup olive oil

pinch of salt

For the chicken balls:

1 pound ground or minced chicken

1 teaspoon salt

4-5 skewers (soak if wooden)

Find this and 101 other meatball recipes in my new book Global Meatballs! I know, that is seriously a lot of meatballs. 

Favorite Spiced Frikkadels, Meatballs of the Rainbow Nation

I have made and eaten a lot of meatballs by now. You see, I wrote a book with over 100 meatball recipes, and that requires eating hundreds of meatballs. I have many favorites, and sometimes they change, but these Picnic Favorite Spiced Frikadelles from South Africa are always in the top 10. Why are they called that, because they are loaded with fragrant spices and because of the nice crust, seem to be the type of food which would travel well. Bring them for picnics, lunches or healthy snacks. No sauces necessary.

I do think that these are one of my favorite meatballs my entire Global Meatballs book. They have an ideal texture, first we encounter a distinct crispy crust fragrant with spices. These spices foretel even more spices inside. The interior is tender with a perfect ratio of breadcrumbs to meat. A mixture of ground beef and pork is used. I like a 2:1 beef:pork ratio, for texture, flavor and fat. Similar to a meatloaf and stuffing but mostly they are unique. 

In writing the book we wanted a representative group of meatball from around the globe. I ended up with recipes from over 40 countries and cultures. In doing the research some were easier to nail down than others. Denmark's national dish is a sort of meatball sandwich (Frikadeller Smorrebrod), lamb meatballs from Greece or Sweedish Meatballs are all well known emblematic dishes of their countries. 

Some parts of the world have huge traditions of meatballs, where it is impossible to pick an iconic one of the many. This may be due to the tradition and popularity of the meatball as a foodstuff, but I note this tends to happen in to areas of the world where diverse cultures have coexisted (often not so peacefully) for years. 

This overlay of cultures and usually results in cooks borrowing the best things from different traditions, food fusions and blurry lines. Regions like the Middle East, the Americas, and South Africa have rich traditions of meatballs with blurry lines of where they "came from" resulting in some of the most innovative and modern recipes. 

South Africa has an fascinating history, local tribes, tribes from further lands, spice traders, displaced people from India and East Africa, the Dutch and English colonists, and more, making up the people of this southern cape. Imagine all the different types of food they liked to eat. But I swear, all of them probably had some type of meatball tradition. 

In my research I found that the people of South Africa have as many favorite meatball recipes as there are cooks. I find this Spiced Frikkadel recipe emblematic of the Rainbow Nation, the taste, ingredients and and how it is made is made, is from everywhere and nowhere in particular. Could we go so far to call it a democratic meatball? There are European, African and and Indian elements in this one delicious food.  

You will find they are flexible at the table, I like them served alongside a big green salad. Or a rice pilaf, cous cous, potatoes, or a pile of cooked vegetables would support them well. Use leftovers in a sandwich the next day. They are equally good eaten hot or at room temperature.

(Note about temperature: The jury is still out about pork, the FDA recommends cooking ground pork to 160° and that what I put in my book. A lot of cooks say 145° is good, this is a hamburger cooked at Medium. I cook mine to 145°. You can Google it and make your choice. I take no responsibility for your overcooked, undercooked, or unnecessary fears of meat.)

Holler back if you try them and tell me what you love about them! I would like that.

Favorite Spiced Frikkadels
22 large meatballs, 5 servings

• 1 cup (115g) unseasoned bread crumbs
• 1/2 cup (115g) plain yogurt
• 1.5 (680g) ground beef and pork
• 1 egg
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 yellow onion, minced
• 1/3 cup chopped cilantro
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin 
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• 1.5 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 
  
• 1/2 cup chickpea flour
• 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 2+ tablespoons safflower or canola oil

Combine the breadcrumbs and yogurt in a bowl. Allow the mixture to rest for 5 minutes. Add the meat, egg, garlic, onion, cilantro, coriander, chili powder, salt and pepper to the bread crumbs. Using your hands incorporate all together. Add the meat and incorporate into the bread mixture.

In a shallow dish, mix together the chickpea flour, turmeric, paprika, and a pinch of salt. Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 350° (180°C) Line a baking tray with aluminum foil or parchment paper. Heat a frying pan on medium high with the safflower oil.

Wet hands will keep the meat from sticking. Form 2.5 inch (6 cm) balls in by rolling them in between your hands. Roll each in the chickpea flour, covering the surface. Place in the hot frying pan and cook the balls in batches. Shake the pan a few times, to brown the surface all over. Cook for 5 - 7 minutes, remove to the prepared baking tray. Repeat with remaining meatballs. 

Finish cooking the meatballs in the 350° oven, 10 -14 minutes should cook them through. A meat thermometer should read 160° for well done meat. (The jury is still out about pork, the FDA recommends cooking ground pork to 160°, a lot of people say 145°. I cook mine to 145°. You can Google it and make your choice.)