the cheapest way would be to buy a whole bird and part it out then grind the breast for light meat and the rest for dark. this year i bought a turkey and parted it but didn't do any grinding. since this was a hit, next time i will have to buy two, part one and grind the other. maybe even save some dark meat to make turkey sausage, yum.
to note the spice mix i used in the meatballs is my husbands recipe from hot sausage. some use plain meatballs, other sweet sausage. growing up, we always had hot sausage in our soup.
i had a beautiful turkey broth from the thigh bones left over from when i made spinach and cheese stuffed turkey thighs, and there is no time like the present (10 degrees out, chance of ice storms) for a good bowl of mineste.
Turkey Meatball Minest
Turkey Bones (I used two thigh bones, but wing tips
make the best broth) Vegetable Scraps paprika, salt, pepper, rosemary, sage, thyme 1.3 LB Ground Turkey 2 Eggs, Blended 1 1/2 Cups Breadcrumbs (seasoned store bought is fine, i used homemade with Italian seasonings) 1 tablespoon Paprika 3 Teaspoons Each: Cayenne Pepper, Garlic Powder 2 Teaspoons Ground Sage 1 Teaspoon Each: Salt, Pepper 3 Green Peppers 2 Onions 2 cups fresh & hardy, leafy greens (spinach, escarole, kale) |
Broth
place bones and vegetable scraps in a crock or stock pot. (I prefer the hands off method of using the crock pit for stock, but the stove top is a great way to do it too.) add various seasoning, i usually use a good smattering of what i intend to use in the rest of the dish. cook stove top med/high 4 hours. cook crock pot low 10 hours. Hot Turkey Sausage Meatballs take the container of Ground Turkey and remove the napkin from the bottom. add your blended eggs and seasonings. mix with your hands and then begin adding bread crumbs. every mixture varies slightly, but add as little or add much bread crumbs (slowly and mix between) so you achieve a consistency to the meat similar to a loose play dough. Roll the meatballs between your palms. use two 'pinches' of meat, which should result in meatballs about as big around as a quarter. oil a baking pan and space the meatballs out. i was able to get 48 meatballs out of the 1.3 lbs of meat. sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. bake for 15 minutes until bottoms are browned, tousle with a spatula, sprinkle again with Parmesan and bake 5 more minutes. dump the balls, with all the crusty Parmesan scrapings off the pan, into the soup broth. Soup Add the all Vegetables (diced) to the broth and meatballs, except for your leafy greens. add a generous dash of Parmesan cheese and cook on low for 10 hours or high for 6 hours. add leafy greens in the last 20 minutes, serve and enjoy. |