It's really cool to find inspiration by seeing something from a new perspective, and that's how this recipe came about. Through my affiliation with Nabisco, I was asked to make some original recipes using Ritz crackers for the Super Bowl. I didn't want to go with the usual idea of what you can do with cheese and crackers-I had to go big. Now, one of my favorite tailgate foods is Buffalo wings . . . question was, how to combine them? Ahaaa . . . this is my solution.
Ingredients
- 2 pounds boneless, skinless
- chicken thighs
- 3 cups crumbled Ritz crackers (about 3 small sleeves)
- 1 tablespoon freshly cracked black pepper
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 1 tablespoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon celery salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin 1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
- 3/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 2 cups crumbled blue cheese Canola oil, for frying 1 egg
- 1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 tablespoon minced pickled
- jalapenos
- 1 celery head, cut into matchsticks
- 1 1/2 cups hot sauce (I recommend Crystal)
Directions
1. In a meat grinder with a medium die, grind the chicken thighs to "chili grind," or have your butcher do it for you. In a large bowl, combine the chicken, 11/2 cups of the Ritz crackers, the black pepper, paprika, basil, cel-ery salt, cumin, white pepper, half the cayenne pepper, and 1 cup of the blue cheese. Mix well to incorporate. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours and up to 24 hours.
2. Preheat the oven to 275 degrees F. Pour 2 inches of canola oil into a large, deep skillet and heat the oil to 350 degrees F over medium-high heat. Set a cooling rack over a baking sheet.
3. Form the chicken mixture into walnut-size balls and set them aside on a plate. Beat the egg in a shallow bowl and place the remaining 1 1/2 cups crackers in another bowl. Dip each ball in the egg and then roll it in the crackers, covering it thoroughly. Add the balls to the hot oil (in batches so as not to crowd them) and fry until golden brown, about 2 minutes. They cook very quickly, so working with a few at a time will help. As they finish cook-ing, place the balls on the rack over the baking sheet. When all the balls are fried, place the baking sheet in the oven and bake for 10 minutes.
1. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan over low heat, melt the butter. Add the garlic and jalapenos and cook 2 minutes. Stir in the hot sauce and keep warm over low heat.
2. To serve, drizzle the hot sauce over the Buffalo balls or serve it as a dip on the side. Celery sticks and the remaining blue cheese make a cooling addition.
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By kbagins_1903442
Birmingham, AL
on February 08, 2012
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These actually tasted better the second time around. I froze the left over meatballs and reheated them a couple of weeks later. They went faster than the original. Good recipe.
By vikkij125_8037038
Woodcliff Lake, NJ
on February 06, 2012
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OMG, these were INSANE. Perfect, super crunchy morsels of chicken wing tasty nibbles. I also used Panko instead of Ritz crackers and baked them (but I did toss them lightly in canola/olive oil to help brown them after a while in the oven. The only thing I am a little annoyed about it all the extra blue cheese I had leftover and the recipe does not give you a dressing to make, so I hit the Joy of Cooking cookbook and made some. I will make these AGAIN AND AGAIN. I swear every walk of life will like these! Oh and I used ground chicken (who has a meat grinder lying around?. Also, I agree with previous reviewer, let the individual choose how much dipping sauce to flavor their balls.
By glhowren_4307327
Austell, GA
on January 26, 2012
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My sister and I made these for a recent family gathering and they were a big hit. We cut carrot and celery sticks to use for skewers and served them with Ranch dip and bottled hot sauce on the side. We took some liberties with the recipe, using ground chicken, no white pepper (since she didn't have any, 1/2 tsp. cayenne (vs. 3/4 tsp, no jalapenos and only 12 oz bleu cheese. Our recipe was "on the fly" with available ingredients we had on hand. Our store only had 12 oz pkgs of bleu cheese, so we went with less vs more (less costly, obviously. Even with all our changes, these were really good. Definitely a new addition to our munchie recipe category. Our family ranges from those who don't eat hot/spicy foods at all, all the way to those who can't get it hot enough; so we played it safe and let everyone suit themselves. I belong to a ladies card group, and I can't wait to make these again! I hope you enjoy them as much as we did :
Read all 8 reviews