This bacon chicken meatballs in luscious bacon cream sauce is a rich, creamy and satisfying dish that's easy enough to make on a busy weeknight.
Ingredients
For bacon chicken meatballs:
5ozbacon
2lbsground chicken*Note 1
1large egg
½cuppacked fresh parsleyabout 20gr
1cupPankoJapanese breadcrumbs
5garlic clovespressed
2tablespoonsDijon mustard
1 ½teaspoonssalt
1teaspoonground black pepper
For bacon cream sauce:
2strips of baconchopped
1medium shallotminced
3garlic clovesminced
1 ½cupschicken broth
½cupheavy whipping cream
1teaspoonlemon juice or white vinegar
Instructions
To make meatballs, preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Line 2 baking sheets with silicone mat, or parchment paper.
In a food processor, place bacon and pulse until finely chopped.
Add all the remaining meatball ingredients. Pulse until everything is well combined.
Using a medium cookie scoop, divide the mixture into uniform meatballs, about 1-inch. (You will get about 60 meatballs.) Arrange the meatballs on the prepared baking sheets.
Bake for 13-15 minutes, or until the meatballs are fully cooked.
Meanwhile, make the sauce.
To make cream sauce, in a large skillet (I used 12-inch skillet), cook chopped bacon over medium high heat until nice and crispy, 8 minutes.
Remove bacon bits onto a plate, lined with a paper towel. Drain bacon fat, leaving about 1 tablespoon.
Reduce heat to medium and add minced shallot into the skillet. Cook until nice and soft, about 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant.
Pour in chicken broth and bring it to a boil over high heat, scraping the pan to deglaze. Continue to boil until reduced to by half, 8-10 minutes.
Reduce the heat to medium low. Add cream and lemon juice and simmer gently for 2-3 minutes.
Stir in chicken meatballs and bacon bits and cook for another 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Garnish with fresh parsley, if desired. And serve over pasta, rice or buckwheat groats.
Notes
Note 1: Substitute chicken breasts for ground chicken, if necessary. Simply place whole chicken breasts into the food processor with bacon and pulse until well chopped.Note 2: Chicken meatballs can be prepared in advance. Store baked meatballs in an airtight container for up to 3 days. To freeze, flash freeze the meatballs on a baking sheet first, and then put the frozen meatballs in a ziplock bag.