Forcemeat Balls

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Large mixing bowl
• •Baking tray lined with parchment
• •Microplane or fine grater for the lemon zest

Instructions

1. 1

   Mix the forcemeat

   Put the breadcrumbs, suet, lemon zest, parsley, thyme and nutmeg in a bowl. Season well with salt and pepper, more than you think, because the breadcrumbs will absorb it. Toss everything together with your fingers until it's evenly combined. It should smell clean and herby, with the lemon cutting through the richness of the suet.

   Make your breadcrumbs from a loaf that's a day or two old. Tear it into pieces and blitz briefly. You want a coarse, uneven crumb, not powder. The texture matters when they're baked.
2. 2

   Bind with egg

   Pour in the beaten egg and work it through with a fork, then your hands. The mixture should come together when you squeeze a handful, holding its shape without crumbling apart. If it feels dry and won't hold, add a teaspoon of cold water. If it feels sloppy, scatter in a few more breadcrumbs. You're looking for something that rolls cleanly between your palms without sticking.

3. 3

   Shape the balls

   Dust your hands lightly with flour. Pinch off walnut-sized pieces of the mixture and roll them between your palms into neat, round balls. Don't pack them too tightly or they'll turn dense and heavy in the oven. A gentle firmness. Set them on a baking tray lined with parchment, leaving a little space between each.

   If you're making these ahead, this is the point to cover the tray and refrigerate. Cold forcemeat balls hold their shape better in the oven.
4. 4

   Bake until golden

   Set the oven to 190C/170C fan. Bake for eighteen to twenty minutes, turning them once halfway through. You want them golden all over, with a slight crust on the outside and a soft, savoury middle. The kitchen will smell of thyme and lemon and toasted breadcrumbs, which is how you know a roast dinner is nearly ready. Let them rest on the tray for a minute before transferring to the serving dish. They belong alongside the bird, tucked around the edges of the platter, catching the gravy.

Chef Tips

• •Use proper suet if you can find it. The shredded kind from the butcher has more flavour than the boxed supermarket version, though the boxed sort will do. If you can't get suet at all, cold butter grated on a coarse grater is the next best thing, though the texture will be slightly different, less light, more rich.
• •The lemon zest is not optional. It lifts the whole thing, cutting through the richness of the suet and the meatiness of the breadcrumbs. Without it, the balls taste flat. Grate it finely on a Microplane, and use only the bright yellow outer layer. The white pith beneath is bitter and has no place here.
• •If you're serving these with a roast, time them to go into the oven about twenty minutes before the bird comes out to rest. They bake while the chicken sits, and everything arrives at the table at the same time. That kind of timing is the quiet skill of a Sunday cook.
• •These are forgiving. If you've got sage instead of thyme, use sage. If you want to add a rasping of black pepper or a pinch of mace, go ahead. Your kitchen, your rules. The bones of the recipe, breadcrumbs, suet, lemon, herbs, egg, stay the same.

Advance Preparation

• •The balls can be shaped up to a day ahead and kept covered in the fridge on their baking tray. They hold their shape better when cold, which is a good reason to make them the night before if you're doing a proper roast.
• •Cooked forcemeat balls reheat well in a moderate oven for eightto ten minutes. They lose a fraction of their crispness but none of their flavour. Useful if you're juggling a full roast dinner and running out of oven space.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 20g)