Turkey Mozzarella Meatballs Two Ways

Last Updated on March 9, 2024

Cooking with Turkey – Mozzarella Stuffed Turkey Meatballs:

This recipe started as part of a blogger challenge to cook ‘Pirate Themed’ food with British Turkey.  I’m not quite there yet…but I’m so pleased with these meatballs I’m going to share the recipe anyway.  The inspiration comes from a recent evening learning about Mozzarella and then from a trip to the supermarket without a shopping list (never a good idea) where I ended up buying ‘Mozzarella Pearls’.  Tiny balls of Mozzarella that are intended to be added to salads, but which make the perfect stuffing for a turkey meatball.

Of course, you can make meatballs without stuffing – and very good they are too.  If you want to make Turkey meatballs I’d suggest buying thigh mince which has a little more fat.  Adding a filling of gooey mozzarella makes for something a bit special.  And, I have to admit to REALLY liking the ‘second’ way – where each meatball is wrapped in a slice of bacon before being baked in the oven.

The original idea was to make ‘cannon balls’ but in the end I made a tomato sauce.  And, I had a few slices of bacon left in the fridge, so I wrapped half the meatballs.  My favourite – the bacon wrapped turkey meat balls were an easy winner.  Apart from perfect flavour matching, food should have interesting texture.  Wrapping meatballs in bacon means that as you bite through the slightly crisped bacon, you reach the meatball and finally the melting mozzarella.  Just be careful not to over season your meatball mixture (I didn’t add any salt at all, though I did use herbs, smoked paprika and ground black pepper) .  Both the bacon and the mozzarella will add saltiness.

I served my meatballs with chunky tomato sauce and a lemon and rosemary rice, though I used oregano in the sauce and instead of carrot used a finely chopped courgette.  It was a simple, easy supper for me.

Now, I just have to find a ‘pirate themed’ use for turkey!