Ingredients: |
Ingredients: 1/2 cup Manischewitz Matzo Meal (you can use other brands, but this is what I use) per batch
2 tbsp rendered chicken fat or if you must (it's not the same, believe me), 2 tbsp vegetable oil
2 large eggs, slightly beaten
1 tsp. salt, if desired (I never leave it out)
2 tbsp. soup stock or water
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Directions: |
Directions:Follow the directions on the Manischewitz Matzo Meal circular box (note they do not use an h after matzoh but I think they are incorrect. BEFORE dropping the formed balls into the boiling water, add about 1/2 to 3/4 cup seltzer water to the boiling water.
Therein lies the secret of the perfect matzoh ball.
Here is the actual recipe dragged out of my mother-in-law, Anita Paul, who has an MMB (Master in Matzoh Balls)
1. Blend schmaltz (rendered chicken fat) instead of the vegetable oil, eggs, Matzo meal, and salt together. If you have more than 2 tbsp of fat, if you have 4, double the recipe. If you have 6 tbsp. rendered fat, triple it...
2. Add chicken soup stock and mix until uniform. Here's the hard part. What is the right consistency? It is in our family (where we like our matzoh balls firm) the consistency is not unlike cornbread but thicker, so that it has lots of body. A fork can stand up in it, temporarily, before it is chilled.
3. The recipe says to chill for 15 minutes. Only two hours or even all night is good enough for us.
4. Take the bowl out of the fridge after you have a nice big pot of salted water boiling.
5. Add the 1/2 to 3/4 cup selter water to the boiling water.
6. Form matzoh balls with your palms, rolling them into a nice round shape about the size of a golfball or a bit bigger. If you like them fluffy (we don't) then roll them more lightly and drop them one by one into the boiling water. If you like them firm, then roll them into the round shape but don't press so hard that they will never cook. They should just keep their shape when you have them in your hand. Drop them into the water. If the mazoh balls are too flimsy, then add a little matzoh meal to the mix so that a fork stands up in it no problem.
7. Take a wooden spoon or other object and nudge any balls that have stuck to the bottom of the pot. You want them to float. If they don't float you are sunk.
8. Boil for about 30-40 minutes or until you can cut one open and it is done--does not have a dark uncooked center. If the balls are too fluffy pieces of them will slough off as you take them out of the water. Next time add more matzoh meal. If the balls are still cooking after 40 minutes you have made cannonballs and they will not pass muster.
9. Scoring system is on a 1.0 to 10.0 scale. The highest I have received is a recent record of 9.8 on the Grandma Anita scale. That's pretty damn good.
10. Call me if you have any questions. I will try to help you but you will have to practice. I only got bits and pieces of this recipe over a period of 20-some years. Sometimes, it has to be earned. |
Personal
Notes: |
Personal
Notes: Vegetarians do not read.
How to render chicken fat:
1. Ask butcher to separate fat when cutting the chicken up for you and to give it to you in a little bag.
2. Cut up one medium onion
3. Place the fat and the onion in a med saucepan and cook over medium high heat until the the chicken fat pieces have turned brown and seem depleted of all liquids. The bottom of your pan will probably be very dark after this, but what you want is a golden, heart-blocking fluid fat. Use a spatter cover over the pan while you render the fat or your cooktop will be a real mess.
4. Strain the fat into a heatproof bowl.
5. Eat the chicken fat "cracklings" or give them to the dog for a real treat if you can't bear the thought of actually eating these things.
6. Reserve the rendered fat for the Matzoh Balls. The amount of fat you have rendered is directly proportional to the number of batches of matzoh balls you can make. Two tbsp. per batch.
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This recipe for Matzoh Balls Vegetarians beware, by 