TURKEY MEATBALLS IN A SPICY, CHIPOTLE BEER BROTH

We adore Mexican food. Frankly, we adore it too much. It doesn't need to be terribly authentic or gourmet, often times the simple and "gringo-friendly" fare at one of our local haunts is just as satisfying as the more authentic, regional dishes at a more upscale restaurant. WHO CARES!!! Slow cooked, shredded pork, tomatillo sauces, chilies...it's all good.

We've been on a bit of a south of the border food spree this week. We began Saturday night at Mexico City on Hillhurst, which segued into flaming margaritas at El Compadre on Sunset Boulevard, which will all be capped by donning our disguises and sneaking into the back door of El Coyote for our traditional Thursday night out with da' boys. I thought it would be unfitting to break the pattern tonight so I set out to make something with the Mexican flair, that wouldn't make our midsections flare.




I "winged" this recipe and found myself unable to stop eating the meatballs! LOVED IT! Ed wasn't quite so pleased as he tends to not enjoy ground turkey (no matter how well seasoned or disguised). Sorry Ed! Hey, if you are not gonna eat those, roll that meatball my way, would ya? Thanks babe!



TURKEY MEATBALLS IN A SPICY, CHIPOTLE BEER BROTH

1.25 lbs Lean ground turkey
1/2 sweet yellow onion, minced
1 jalapeno, seeded and minced
1 large bunch cilantro, chopped (tops only)
6 large garlic cloves, minced
salt (2 tsp) & cracked pepper (lots!) to taste
1 tsp cumin
pinch cinnamon
5 TBS olive oil (total)
2 eggs, lightly beaten

6 cups chicken stock (low-sodium if using canned)
1 bottle Mexican beer, such as Corona
1 cup diced, canned tomatoes
1 large carrot, peeled and cut into bite-sized pieces
1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce (use more sauce from can if you want more spice!)
1 cup corn kernels


Place turkey, onion, jalapeno, cilantro, garlic, salt, pepper, cumin, cinnamon, 2 TBS olive oil, and eggs in mixing bowl. Combine using hands (yay, fun!), mixing just until ingredients are evenly incorporated. Pick out a small mound of meat mixture and roll into 1 1/2" meatballs, setting each aside on a cold plate when formed.




Pour about 2 TBS olive oil into a large skillet and heat over medium high flame. Add meatballs to skillet and cook, turning frequently, until well browned. You will most likely need to cook meatballs in two batches to avoid over-crowding the pan. Set cooked meatballs aside. When finished, deglaze skillet by pouring 2 cups of the chicken stock into skillet and scrape up all bits of leftover meat from skillet. Reserve stock.

Place tomatoes, carrot, minced chipotle, and beer in a stockpot. Bring to a boil, lower heat to medium and continue cooking for 10 minutes. Add reserved chicken stock from pan along with remaining 4 cups stock. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until carrots are crisp tender, about 8 to 10 minutes. Carefully add meatballs to pot and continue cooking for 5 to ten minutes, or until you can no longer resist the urge to slurp the entire pot down. But, try to avoid slurping the entire pot down until you let it cool slightly as the resulting burns would be unsightly and painful.