Mini Low-Carb Buffalo Chicken Meatballs
UPDATED 4/29/2018 after refining the recipe on Carl’s Keto Kitchen.
These meatballs are amazing. Tender, juicy, and meaty with a bite that hits you in the back of the throat. Mmmmmm. The secret to making any kind of low-carb meatballs is to replace bread crumbs with another binder. At first I used pulverized pork rinds, but found it made the meatballs a bit loose, and I wanted them more dense. In April, 2018, I updated the recipe to use 3 tsp of Konjac powder instead of 3/4 cup of pulverized pork rinds. You can try it both ways if you like, but the Konjac powder tends to make the meatballs more dense and meatbally.
These are the best meatballs you’ll ever eat, low-carb or not. I came to this recipe because one of my daughters had buffalo chicken meatballs at a local restaurant and they were outrageously good. I improvised the meatball recipe, but I got the sauce directly from the chef. All you need is a few fresh ingredients and a food processor. What? You don’t have one? You can get one for 40 bucks at Wal Mart. No excuses. Go get one now! I consider kitchen gadgets a medical expense. You should too. 🙂
| Prep Time | 20 minutes |
| Cook Time | 12 minutes |
| Servings |
meatballs
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- 1/4 cup Onion finely chopped
- 4 cloves garlic finely chopped
- 1/4 cup jalapeno pepper finely chopped
- 1/4 cup green or red pepper finely chopped
- 1/2 stalk celery finely chopped
- 3 tbsp avocado oil or extra virgin olive oil
- 1 lb Chicken Thighs ground in a food processor
- 1 large egg
- 3 tsp Konjac powder
- 1/2 cup Romano cheese finely grated
- 1/4 cup fresh tarragon chopped
- 1/4 cup fresh sage chopped
- 1 tsp Coarse Salt
- 1/2 tsp Black Pepper ground
- 8 tbsps unsalted butter one stick
- 1 cup Frank's Red Hot Sauce or Tobasco, or any other hot sauce
- 1 cup heavy cream use up to 1/2 cup to cut the bite from the hot sauce
- 8 oz Crumbled Blue Cheese Roquefort or creamy Gorganzola
Ingredients
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- Preheat oven to 450 F. Coat a 9×9 inch baking dish with the olive oil and set aside.
- Finely chop the celery, onion, pepper, 3 cloves of garlic, and jalapeno and saute in butter for 5 minutes or until soft.
- Weigh out 1 pound of boneless skinless chicken thighs (roughly 2 thighs) and grind with a meat grinder or food processor. You may want to cut the chicken into smaller chunks so the food processor doesn't choke.
- Combine the ground chicken, egg, saute'd vegetables, Konjac powder, Romano cheese, 1 clove of garlic, herbs, salt, and pepper in a large mixing bowl and mix by hand until thoroughly incorporated.
- Roll the mixture into round balls, making sure to pack the meat firmly. Place the balls in the prepared baking dish, next to each other, so that they touch. This will ensure they will be soft and moist.
- While the meatballs are roasting, combine the butter, blue cheese, cream, and hot sauce in a small saucepan, and cook over low heat, whisking until the butter and cheese are melted and fully incorporated. Don't allow it to boil, or it may separate.
- Remove from heat. Add more heavy cream here if the hot sauce is too strong.
- Roast meatballs for about 15 minutes, or until firm. Ladle some sauce into the bottom of a serving dish. Place meatballs on top. Garnish with a little extra virgin olive oil and flat-leaf parsley.
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My youngest daughter loves wings. I am hoping I can get her to try these. If not more for me!
These sound delicious Carl
@Dmes10vi think you mean @carl not me.
Corrected
If you want to make these but don’t have celery handy, they’re quite delicious with celery salt