These easy vodka meatballs have that rich creamy sauce with a heartier touch. You can serve pasta alongside if you want to go all out.
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LifestyleTranscript
00:00Hey everyone, it's Tia in the Delish Kitchen studios.
00:03Vodka sauce is so good, I don't know why we don't put it over things besides pasta.
00:08Today, I'm gonna show you how to make the most delicious meatballs with that vodka sauce.
00:15We're gonna start by making our meatballs.
00:18Into the bowl we're gonna put our ground chicken, panko, egg, parmesan, garlic, parsley, salt,
00:27and a few cranks of black pepper.
00:28I love a recipe like this because you just literally throw everything in the bowl and
00:32mix it up and then you portion out your meatballs and you're done.
00:36Once everything's mixed up, we're gonna use an ice cream scoop to ensure that we get perfectly
00:41shaped meatballs.
00:42I prefer it because it also means that I don't have to get my hands involved, which when
00:46you're dealing with raw meat, it's always a plus.
00:49Before we fry our meatballs off, we are gonna fry off a taster just to make sure that our
00:53seasoning is right.
00:55Once you've fried off all your meatballs, if you then taste one and go, oh, that needs
00:59more salt, oh, that could do with some more parmesan, you can't do anything about it.
01:03By frying just a little bit first, you make sure that the rest of them are gonna be beautiful.
01:08All right, let's take a taste.
01:11Ooh, solid.
01:13Salt level's good, enough cheese, good to go with the rest of them.
01:17We're gonna preheat a large skillet over medium-high heat, add about a tablespoon of olive oil,
01:22and then put in our meatballs.
01:24We're gonna cook them until browned on all sides.
01:26This is gonna take about 10 to 12 minutes.
01:29Now, for those of you out there who are thinking, chicken, why would they use ground chicken?
01:33Well, it is an intentional decision here because by using the ground chicken, you're really
01:38letting the vodka sauce shine.
01:40Remember, the vodka sauce is the point, not necessarily the meatballs.
01:45You wanna be turning them pretty constantly so that you get them caramelized all the way
01:50around.
01:51Caramelization equals flavor, and especially when you're dealing with something like ground
01:55chicken, you wanna make sure that you really get all of that.
01:59Now it's time to make that sauce.
02:02We're gonna start with our butter, shallot, and garlic in the pan, and we are gonna let
02:07that cook down until the shallot turns translucent and tastes sweet to the taste.
02:12It's important to take the shallots far enough because that sweetness is going to add real
02:17depth of flavor to the sauce.
02:19Then we're gonna go in with our tomato paste.
02:22It's a lot of tomato paste, but for good reason.
02:25That tomato paste is the foundation of the flavor.
02:28Then we're gonna go in with the vodka.
02:29We're gonna let the vodka cook until it is almost evaporated from the pan.
02:34Then we're gonna add our cream and our water, along with our red pepper flakes and some
02:39salt and pepper.
02:40We're gonna add these meatballs back into the skillet at this point, bring it to a simmer,
02:45cover, and continue to simmer until the meatballs are cooked through.
02:49And this should take about 10 more minutes.
02:51Finally, we're gonna add the parmesan and stir until melted.
02:59It smells so good in here, I can't wait to dig in.
03:04The meatballs are so tender and juicy.
03:06That sauce is rich and creamy.
03:08You get that depth of flavor from the caramelized tomato paste that we took the time on.
03:12It was worth it.
03:13And you also get that faint zing from what's left of the vodka.
03:17Here's a reason vodka sauce is loved by everybody, it is incredible.
03:22These meatballs would be great over pasta.
03:25If you do want pasta, you should make double the sauce because you really are gonna want
03:29a lot of it.
03:30These meatballs will make any weeknight.
03:33So for this and other dinner favorites, stick around on Delish.com.