Hungarian (Turkey) Meatballs

These Hungarian Turkey Meatballs made by a Croatian are browned and then finished in the oven. They sit joyously in a traditional yet lighter goulash sauce, which includes bell peppers, hot pepper, paprika, wine, and stock, only to be finished with some orzo and sour creamy silkiness–all in one cast iron skillet. Comfort made easy–a load of traditions made modern. They will knock your socks off and the turkey variation staves away any meatball guilt. Enjoy!

Certain recipes sneak up on you.

Being the Croatian that I am, I am always talking about the different cultural and culinary trajectories, histories, and origins of Croatia. Being a Dalmatian Croatian with family from Split and the coast, origins tend to head the way of Italy via the Roman and Venetian empires, as evident in our Christmas feast of Dalmatian Shrimp.

The obvious Turkish influence is in every grilled meat and pita like bread that is sold on the streets these days and days gone by for centuries, like my constant return to Burek and Cevapcici.

The Austro-Hungarian empire gave us many of the most delicious tortes, custards, and desserts we make, like Almond Roll, in addition to the classic Goulash and Stuffed Peppers.

I always have a supply of ground turkey in the freezer, and wanted to whip up some turkey meatballs. After careful consideration, I wanted to infuse the recipe as you would infuse ground turkey in general–with anything I wanted, since turkey absorbs flavors like a sponge.

I considered Moroccan, then Turkish so as to further explore my boyfriend’s Turkish roots, but then figured, well why not my own Croatian? It’s not as easy as that, through. Just look above and you’ll know there are a lot of journeys on which I could set foot in order to land in a former empire.

Approaching the meal from the sauce angle speaks to the French way of doing things, so I thought about the meatballs and the most comfort food, non-red sauce in the Croatian cannon, and came up with goulash. What if I prepared the meatballs in the style of my goulash. Even better, I decided to alter the recipe (as yet to be posted here, but goulash will make its way this fall) to fit the turkey variation.

Once summer turns to fall (my favorite time of year), I will update this Hungarian Meatball recipe to a beef/pork meatball version, using the traditional goulash red wine and beef stock. For this version, I lightened up the load with a white wine reduction and chicken stock.

The best part is, it’s one pan, one cast iron skillet if you’ve got it. The meatballs are prepared with my traditional New York Italian by way of Croatian Queens version, including homemade bread crumbs or, better yet, my mom’s milk soaked white bread.

Next, the meatballs are browned in the skillet, and set aside so you can work on the sauce. The sauce is built as any goulash sauce is, with our holy trinity of onion, pepper, and garlic. Here, the emphasis being on the Hungarian tradition, I combined several bell peppers in the meatballs and the sauce, and threw in a little long hot pepper (called Chinese peppers, but I consider them to be similar to the Turkish variety used in various dishes like Menemen). The paprika and red pepper flake add to the heat.

Once you finish the sauce with the wine and stock, the meatballs go back into the skillet and you finish it all in a 300 degree oven to slow and low get to the finish line. The last part of the recipe is just a final enriching: a fair amount of sour cream (the most Hungarian finishing touch you can find) and any additional seasoning. Oh, and you prepare a nice side of orzo along the way and add it to the meatballs and sauce so it soaks up all that Hungarian-ness (and Croatian-ness, slightly Turkish-ness, and some Italian-ness to boot).

This is Sunday comfort food, but prepared in half the time and packed with twice the flavor of multiple empires. Can you taste the intrigue? Try these Hungarian meatballs, made with not one, but three of my best familial traditions and all you’ll taste is love (and some peppers).

Hungarian Turkey Meatballs

Mimi

A light, spicy, and creamy version of a traditional Hungarian classic goulash sauce using turkey meatballs and orzo in a cast iron skillet.

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Prep Time 50 minutes mins

Cook Time 45 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 35 minutes mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine Austrian, Croatian, Hungarian, Italian

Servings 6 servings

Equipment

• Cast Iron Skillet or oven-safe deep skillet/pot

Ingredients

  

For the Turkey Meatballs

• 1 lb Ground turkey
• 2 tbsp Olive oil
• 1 medium Onion, chopped
• 1/2 each Red, orange, and yellow bell peppers (the variation is your choice, so a total of 1 1/2 peppers, chopped
• 1/2 Long hot pepper -Chinese/Turkish style), chopped
• 2 cloves Garlic, minced
• 1 cup Breadcrumbs or 2 slices of white bread soaked in milk for 10 mins
• 1/4 cup Tomato sauce
• 1 large Egg, beaten
• 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded
• 1/4 cup Parsley
• 1 tsp Red pepper flakes
• 1 tbsp Paprika
• 1.5 tsp Salt
• 1/2 tsp Black pepper
• 1 pinch Caraway seeds, optional
• 1 tbsp butter

For the Sauce

• 3 tbsp Olive oil for cooking
• 1 medium Onion, chopped
• 2 Bell peppers, chopped –preferred variety–
• 1 Long hot pepper, chopped
• 2-3 cloves Garlic, minced
• 2 tbsp Tomato paste
• 1 cup White wine
• 1/2 cup Tomato sauce
• 1/2 tbsp Paprika
• 1/2 tsp Red pepper flakes
• 1 tsp Salt
• 1 tsp Black pepper
• 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded
• Pinch Caraway seed, optional
• 1 Bay leaf
• 1.5 cups Chicken stock

For the Orzo

• 1 cup Orzo
• 2 cups Water, boiled
• 1 clove Garlic, minced
• Pinch Salt

For the Finish

• Additional Olive oil
• Additional Chicken stock (if sauce needs thinning)
• Additional Parmesan cheese to taste
• 1/2 cup Sour cream
• Any additional seasoning to taste
• 1/2 cup Parsley, chopped

Instructions

 

For the Meatballs

• Combine all ingredients except butter and olive oil and form 20-24 meatballs with your hands (or whatever size you like or best fits in your skillet). Refrigerate for 1 hour or until firm.
  
• In your cast iron skillet, heat to medium high and add olive oil and butter. Once pan is hot, add the meatballs and brown on both sides, about 5-7 mins each side. You may need to lower heat slightly if too dark (like some of mine!) and/or add additional olive oil. Set aside and allow to drain on paper towels.
  

For the Sauce

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
• In the same pan, add olive oil and heat to medium. Saute onions, peppers, and garlic until translucent and soft, about 10 minutes.
  
• Add in the tomato paste, turn the heat to high and add the white wine. Allow to bubble and stir, scraping up any turkey bits leftover from the meatballs. Once the alcohol reduces, about 8-10 minutes, lower the heat back to medium.
  
• Add the tomato sauce, spices, and mix together. Add in the chicken stock and turn up the heat to near high and allow the sauce to boil. Once it does, add in the bay leaf and lower to a gentle, but solid simmer. Add the turkey meatballs back in and move the skillet to the oven for 30 minutes. Check throughout and make sure the meatballs aren't getting too dark; you may want to cover with foil.

For the Orzo

• While the meatballs are in the oven, in a separate sauce pan, saute the orzo on medium-low heat, along with a squeeze of olive oil, pinch of salt, and one minced clove of garlic. Move the orzo around to toast for 5 minutes, while you boil water.
• Turn up the heat and add in 2 cups of already boiling water to the orzo. Once mixed in, turn the heat to medium/high and cover, simmering for about 8-9 minutes, until all the water is evaporated.

For the Finish

• Take the skillet from the oven (watch out, you may forgot how hot it is!) Remove the meatballs for a moment, and put the skillet on medium/low heat. Remove the bay leaf and add the orzo into the skillet. Incorporate the orzo into the sauce by mixing.
  
• Depending on the amount of sauce, you may need to add a little more chicken stock. Add in a little more Parmesan if you're a cheese hound like me, any additional seasoning needed.
• Add in the sour cream and mix into the sauce until the color is a lovely creamy orange.
• Add the meatballs back in on top and remove from heat. Sprinkle parsley over the top and serve while hot!
  

Notes

• When making turkey meatballs, make sure to refrigerate the prepped meatballs, since the turkey will be too soft to saute and might fall apart. With refrigeration, I only lost two out of 24!

 

• When baking, as said, you might need to cover with foil or stir the sauce a little bit to make sure it doesn’t stick. Hopefully, your skillet is oiled and seasoned properly (it helps!)

 

• The finishing touches in the skillet are up to you. If you have enough sauce, no more stock is needed. If you prefer less Parmesan, that’s fine, and/or more or less sour cream, but the sour cream is an integral part of Hungarian stews nd comfort foods–it will help cool down the heavy handed heat of the peppers and spice, and you can always go with low fat or fat free;)

 

• Also, I am in love with orzo and find it works ideally in a skillet dish, not taking up the room that pasta does, yet more comforting than rice. You can substitute your carb however you like. 

 

• These meatballs would make a terrific sandwich, which I will definitely put together here one day very soon!

Keyword cast iron skillet, chile peppers, comfort foods, croatian, easy, goulash, hungarian, meatballs, orzo, paprika, sauce, slow bake, sour cream, turkey