# Turkey Meatballs



## virgo152 (Jan 6, 2008)

I made turkey meatballs and cooked them in the oven but they had so much fat on them.  I think I'm going to put them in the pot next time.  

Any suggestions


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## Andy M. (Jan 6, 2008)

That's surprising.  Turkey is very lean.  What wlse did you put in them.


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## virgo152 (Jan 6, 2008)

bread crumbs, cheese, egg, and onion


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## Andy M. (Jan 6, 2008)

Are you sure it was fat?  It could have been just juices from the turkey and onion.


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## virgo152 (Jan 6, 2008)

I did cook it for 25 minutes.  I wonder if it should of been cooked longer.


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## Yakuta (Jan 6, 2008)

I use ground turkey all the time to make meatloaf and kababs (the kind made of ground turkey) and the Purdue packet says 7Grams of fat and I have never had issues with grease when I bake them. 

I normally mix it with ginger, garlic, spices, herbs, egg, fresh bread crumbles and onions.  I skewer them and bake them in the oven and cook them for atleast 45 minutes.  They release a lot of liquid (it's liquid from the meat and onions) but that's just juices and not grease.  

I believe 25 minutes for small meatballs may be sufficient but it may be juices and not grease what you are seeing being released.


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## virgo152 (Jan 6, 2008)

I probably should of cooked them longer.  I made big meatballs.  Thank you.  

I am still learning.


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## Andy M. (Jan 6, 2008)

virgo, another time, try browning the meatballs in a skillet then add them to the sauce to finish cooking.  That way, both the meatballs and the sauce taste better.


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## jennyema (Jan 7, 2008)

Andy M. said:


> virgo, another time, try browning the meatballs in a skillet then add them to the sauce to finish cooking. That way, both the meatballs and the sauce taste better.


 

I agree.  Also, agree that you'll see very little grease with turkey meatballs.


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## BreezyCooking (Jan 7, 2008)

I'm thinking you were right when you said that perhaps your meatballs might have been too large for the baking time.

I make turkey meatballs all the time & always line them up & bake them on a shallow-rimmed baking sheet @ 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes.  They always come out fine & there is little to no grease.  Some juices, yes; grease, no.

However, the meatballs I form are just slightly smaller than a golf ball.  If you make yours larger, just bake them longer - maybe 40-45 minutes.  No need to skillet-cook them first.


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## *amy* (Jan 7, 2008)

Virgo, I made RR's Super-Size Turkey Meatballs & they turned out great. See if this is a recipe you might want to try:

Super-Size Turkey Meatballs with Spinach and Cheese


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## Caine (Jan 7, 2008)

Actually, according to the *U.S. Department of Agriculture*, 95% lean ground beef is lower in saturated fat (5 grams per 3 ounce serving) than ground turkey (11 grams per 3 ounce serving). Now, if you buy ground turkey *breast*, which is all white meat and much more expensive, that would be less than 1 gram of saturated fat per 3 ounce serving.


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## BreezyCooking (Jan 7, 2008)

Whatever.  I was just trying to give the OP a possible reason for her question - not to change her eating habits or ingredients.

I rarely use ground turkey breast because I find it too lean for most recipes.  Regular ground turkey works just fine.  I also regularly use ground turkey because my husband doesn't eat red meat or red meat products, & hasn't for 40 years now.

Not to mention you rarely hear about people dying from eating ground turkey - unlike ground beef.


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## Caine (Jan 7, 2008)

BreezyCooking said:


> Whatever. I was just trying to give the OP a possible reason for her question - not to change her eating habits or ingredients.


I wasn't trying to change anyone's eating habits. As a nutritionist, I only do that if they pay me to do it. What I was trying to do is dispell the idea that ground turkey is leaner than ground beef and therefore should not produce fat when cooked. Obviously, at 11 grams per 3 ounce serving, cooking turkey meatballs will definitley produce a visible amount of fat.



BreezyCooking said:


> Not to mention you rarely hear about people dying from eating ground turkey - unlike ground beef.


 
I knew a guy that was killed in a turkey farm stampede once. Does that count?


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## BreezyCooking (Jan 7, 2008)

LOL - no, turkey stampedes don't count - LOL!

Since I'm not a nutritionist, I bow to your knowledge, but will say that I've been using ground turkey in virtually any & every recipe calling for ground meat (beef, pork, lamb) for many years now & have never seen any appreciable amount of fat drain out of it.  In fact, I frequently add fat to it in the form of extra-virgin olive oil, or dotting burgers with butter, to keep it from drying out.


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## QSis (Jan 7, 2008)

*amy* said:


> Virgo, I made RR's Super-Size Turkey Meatballs & they turned out great. See if this is a recipe you might want to try:
> 
> Super-Size Turkey Meatballs with Spinach and Cheese


 
Oh, amy, I haven't compared them word for word, but I think the one you posted is the same or similar to this RR recipe Florentine Meatballs Recipe: Recipes: Food Network
which I LOVE and have made a bunch of times!

I'm telling you, this recipe makes you look BRILLIANT to whomever you are serving it!  

Lee


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## *amy* (Jan 7, 2008)

QSis said:


> Oh, amy, I haven't compared them word for word, but I think the one you posted is the same or similar to this RR recipe Florentine Meatballs Recipe: Recipes: Food Network
> which I LOVE and have made a bunch of times!
> 
> I'm telling you, this recipe makes you look BRILLIANT to whomever you are serving it!
> ...


 
YAY!  I was hoping you would see this post, Lee.  I remember you liked them as much as I did.  Are they the same?  I shared the first one, cause I saved the yummy pic that went with.


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## virgo152 (Jan 12, 2008)

Well I made them again and they taste much better.


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## StirBlue (Jan 12, 2008)

Caine said:


> Actually, according to the *U.S. Department of Agriculture*, 95% lean ground beef is lower in saturated fat (5 grams per 3 ounce serving) than ground turkey (11 grams per 3 ounce serving). Now, if you buy ground turkey *breast*, which is all white meat and much more expensive, that would be less than 1 gram of saturated fat per 3 ounce serving.


 
I read that the ground poultry products have fatty skin ground into it so it is not just a ground poultry breast.  Wouldn't ground turkey more likely be the dark meat since they market turkey breast?


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