For all my friends who are San Diego Charger fans, this is the perfect appetizer to serve while watching the Chargers beat the Buffalo Bills tomorrow! Make no bones about it, these Buffalo Chicken Balls are juicy little morsels made with celery, stuffed with a blue cheese center and then doused in buffalo wing sauce! They have the same great taste and kick as the traditional wings but without all the mess and no bones! No need for 9 million napkins and baby wipes with these buffalo balls! Go Bolts!
Every team has it’s loyal fans and that’s what makes this rivalry so much fun! I grew up in the Central Valley of California, directly inland from San Francisco, so to this day I remain a loyal, die-hard 49er fan!! Because I have lived in San Diego since I graduated from San Diego State University, the Chargers are my adopted 2nd favorite team to root for. And any 49er fan has got to be thrilled by the way they trounced the Seattle Seahawks (Sea-chickens) last week!
We all get our ideas and inspiration from friends and family and those who cross our paths daily. A few months ago I came across a beautiful picture on Pinterest of Blue Cheese-Stuffed Buffalo Meatballs by Michael at Inspired by Charm. Michael has a fun, friendly style of writing and shares creative ideas for decorating, crafts and entertaining. I enjoy following his home make-over and how his life has evolved as a blogger. Thanks Michael for the inspiration!
Here’s how we roll with these spicy buffalo balls!
Place the ground chicken in a bowl and get ready to add your other ingredients.
Mince the celery (baby bites). Grate the shallot and microplane or mince the garlic. I love my microplane for zesting citrus and grating onions and garlic! Lots of flavor dispersed throughout the meat without those big hunks of one item. The perfect bite!
Add the egg white and the panko bread crumbs. I am a huge fan of panko crumbs! The are Japanese bread crumbs and are lighter and crunchier than regular bread crumbs. You can use regular bread crumbs if you can’t find Panko.
Now for the punch of signature flavor, add the ranch dressing to the meat mixture.
Add Frank’s Red Hot Wing Sauce. Great layers of flavor going on here! With a fork, or your hands…one of my favorite kitchen tools and they are always ready when you are! Mix until just combined or our meat can get tough. Ground chicken will feel stickier than beef or turkey.
The recipe will make about 16 meatballs. Divide mixture into quarters and then make each quarter into 4 balls. An easy way to make meatballs that are equal in size for even cooking.
Press a cube of blue cheese into the center of each ball then form the mixture around the cheese to seal. Roll into a ball.
Place meatballs on a non-stick sprayed cooling rack set on top of a baking sheet and then bake for 16-18 minutes or until cooked through.
While the meatballs are cooking, melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the buffalo wing sauce and stir to combine.
Add cooked meatballs to skillet and use a spoon to coat them with sauce. Place a lid on the skillet and turn heat to low to keep the meatballs warm.
If you are serving this to a crowd on game day, double or ripple your batch and finish the meatballs in a crock pot cooker. Simply put the butter, buffalo wing sauce, and meatballs into a crock pot cooker and set on high for about 20 minutes or until warm. Then set them on low, if they last that long!
- 1 pound ground chicken
- 1/2 small shallot, grated
- 2 cloves garlic, grated
- 1/2 stalk of celery, finely minced
- 1 egg white
- 1 tablespoon Frank's Red Hot sauce, for inside of meatballs
- 3/4 cup panko bread crumbs
- 1 tablespoon powdered Ranch Dip mix
- 4 ounce block blue cheese cut into 1/2" cubes
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 cup Frank's Red Hot sauce, as sauce for meatballs to hang out in
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. With a fork, stir together chicken, shallot, garlic, celery, egg white, panko crumbs and ranch dip mix in a large bowl. Mix until just combined or our meat can get tough. Ground chicken will feel stickier than beef or turkey.
- The recipe will make about 16 meatballs. Divide mixture into quarters and then make each quarter into 4 balls. An easy way to make meatballs that are equal in size for even cooking.
- Press a cube of blue cheese into the center of each ball then form the mixture around the cheese to seal. Roll into a ball.
- Place meatballs on a non-stick sprayed cooling rack set on top of a baking sheet and then bake for 16-18 minutes or until cooked through.
- While the meatballs are cooking, melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the buffalo wing sauce and stir to combine. Add cooked meatballs to skillet and use a spoon to coat them with sauce. Place a lid on the skillet and turn heat to low to keep the meatballs warm.
- If you are serving this to a crowd on game day, double or ripple your batch and finish the meatballs in a crock pot cooker. Simply put the butter, buffalo wing sauce, and meatballs into a crock pot cooker and set on high for about 20 minutes or until warm. Then set them on low, if they last that long!
These are delicious even when reheated. Just grabbed a few out of the fridge, a quick nuke and it’s a killer snack!