Chef Tom fires up the Clementino Wood Fired Oven for his scratch made Chicken Meatballs with Mushroom Gravy. Served on a bed of Yukon Gold Potato Purée, this is some seriously tasty winter warming comfort food!
WHAT YOU'LL LOVE
- Grinding the chicken thighs in a food processor rather than starting with pre-ground chicken lets you control the texture directly, and thigh meat brings more fat and flavor than lean breast meat would
- Cooking a small test patty before shaping all the meatballs lets you taste and adjust the seasoning while the mixture is still easy to portion, rather than committing to a full batch first
- Building the mushroom gravy in the same skillet the meatballs browned in ties the gravy's flavor to the fond left behind, rather than starting the sauce in a clean pan
- Cooking the flour and harissa paste into the mushrooms for 30 seconds before adding stock removes the raw flour taste, so the gravy thickens smoothly instead of tasting pasty
Category
Entree
Cuisine
American
Servings
8
Prep Time
45 minutes
Cook Time
1 hour
Calories
981
Chef Tom shows you how to scratch-make Chicken Meatballs with Mushroom Gravy recipe, made in a Clementino Wood Fired Oven. Enjoy this comforting wintery meal on a bed of Yukon Gold Potato Purée.
Ingredients
- 2 cups fresh bread crumbs (6 slices wheat bread blitzed in the food processor)
- 2 1/2 lb chicken thighs, boneless, skinless, 2” dice
- 1/2 cup feta cheese
-
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
-
2 tbsp Cattleman’s Grill Trail Dust All Purpose Seasoning
-
2 tbsp Kozlik’s Dijon Classique
-
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 3 tbsp unsalted butter
- 2 shallots, peeled, sliced
- 8 oz (1 1/2 cups) mushrooms, small dice
- 1/2 cup flour
-
2 tbsp Entube Harissa Paste
-
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 quart vegetable stock
- 2 tbsp heavy cream
-
Jacobsen Salt Co. Kosher Sea Salt, to taste
-
Jacobsen Salt Co. Tellicherry Black Peppercorns, fresh ground, to taste
- 2 lb Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, diced
- 3/4 - 1 cup half-and-half
-
Jacobsen Salt Co. Kosher Sea Salt
For the Chicken Meatballs:
For the Cremini Gravy:
For the Yukon Gold Purée:
Directions
- To make the meatballs, place half of the diced chicken in a food processor. Process until the chicken meat is broken down to a ground meat consistency. Remove the first half of the chicken and repeat with the second half.
Place the ground chicken in the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the fresh bread crumbs, feta, extra virgin olive oil, Cattleman’s Grill Trail Dust and Kozlik’s Dijon. Using the paddle attachment, mix over medium high until the meat mixture holds together.
- Pull off a small portion of the meatball mixture and cook in a skillet. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed.
- Portion the meat mixture into about 24 (2 oz) meatballs. Place on a sheet pan. Transfer to the refrigerator to firm up.
- Build a fire about 2 logs high in the center of your Clementi Clementino Wood Fired Oven. When the wood has broken down into coals, slide the fire off to the side of the oven, trapping it against the side wall with the burn grate. Add more thin splits of cooking wood to maintain at 500ºF temperature reading on the thermometer on the opposite side from the fire. Sweep any ash and debris off of the cooking surface.
- Place the meatballs in a Lodge 12” Cast Iron Skillet. Place the skillet on the deck of the oven. Let cook uncovered until browned on all sides, turn the meatballs as needed. When the meatballs are browned, place a lid on the skillet and continue cooking until the internal temperature of the meatballs reaches 160ºF.
- Remove the skillet from the grill and remove the meatballs from the skillet. Place in a foil pan and cover with foil.
- Place the Saica EVOO and butter in the skillet. When the butter has melted, add the shallot and mushrooms and stir with a wooden spoon. Place the skillet on the deck of the oven. Cook until the mushrooms are softened and have released moisture. Add the Harissa paste and flour. Stir to mix well. Return to the oven. Let cook for about 30 seconds. Add the vegetable stock and Worcestershire. Stir and return to the oven. Let the gravy cook until thickened.
- Remove the skillet from the oven and add the heavy cream. Stir to incorporate. Add the chicken meatballs to the mushroom gravy. Stir to coat the meatballs. Return the skillet to the grill to warm the meatballs.
- To make the Yukon Gold Purée, cook the peeled Yukon Gold potatoes in simmering water until tender and cooked through. Mash the potatoes with a potato ricer, or hand masher. Mix in remaining ingredients. Whisk until smooth.
- Serve the Chicken Meatballs with Mushroom Gravy over the Yukon Gold Purée.
Recipe Note
Recipe FAQ
Why grind the chicken thighs in a food processor instead of using pre-ground chicken?
Processing the thighs yourself gives you control over the final texture, and thigh meat carries more fat and flavor into the meatballs than pre-ground breast meat typically would.
Why cook a small test patty before shaping the whole batch of meatballs?
Tasting a cooked sample lets you adjust the seasoning while the mixture is still loose and easy to portion, rather than discovering an issue after all 24 meatballs are already shaped.
Why build the mushroom gravy in the same skillet the meatballs browned in?
Cooking the shallots and mushrooms in that same pan picks up the fond left behind from browning, building that flavor directly into the gravy rather than starting in a clean, empty skillet.
Why cook the flour and harissa paste into the mushrooms for 30 seconds before adding the stock?
That brief cook removes the raw taste from the flour, so the gravy thickens smoothly once the stock goes in, rather than carrying a pasty, undercooked flour flavor into the finished sauce.
What internal temperature should the chicken meatballs actually reach?
This recipe pulls them at 160°F, but ground poultry needs to reach the same 165°F minimum as whole poultry — it doesn't share the 160°F threshold used for ground beef. Continue cooking to at least 165°F rather than pulling at 160°F.
How indoor-friendly is this recipe?
4 out of 5 — a cast iron skillet on the stovetop can brown the meatballs and build the gravy exactly the same way; the wood-fired oven mainly adds convenience for managing high, steady heat.
Recipe Highlights
Self-ground chicken thighs: Builds more flavor and fat than pre-ground chicken.
Test-patty seasoning check: Adjusts flavor before the whole batch is shaped.
Fond-built gravy: Ties the sauce back to the same pan the meatballs browned in.
Pre-cooked flour and harissa: Removes raw flavor before the stock is added.
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Nutrition
Nutrition
- Nutrition Serving Size
- 13.93 oz
- per serving
- Calories
- 981
- Carbs
- 84 grams
- Protein
- 59 grams
- Fat
- 44 grams
- Sodium
- 771 milligrams
