Sous Vide Greek-Style Chicken Meatballs

I like making lighter meatballs from things like chicken and turkey in the summer, but because the meat is so lean, they can be tricky to pull off without adding tons of extra binders and moistening ingredients. Sous vide cooking totally fixes this problem — it makes it easy to keep the meatballs tender and moist without those additional ingredients. Instead, I can focus on adding fun, flavorful touches like garlic, fresh oregano, lemon, and lots of freshly ground black pepper.

Author

Kate Williams

Kate is a freelance food writer and editor living in Berkeley, CA. Before moving to the Bay Area, Kate spent two years working as a test cook at America’s Test Kitchen, and has contributed to Serious Eats, The Oxford American, KQED and The Hypocrite Reader, among others. She's currently the editor of Berkeleyside NOSH.

Prep Time: 00:20

Recipe Time: 02:00

Temperature Options:

Medium - Tender and juicy

146F / 63.3C

Ingredients

• 1 pound (450 grams) ground chicken
• 1 tablespoon (14.79 mL) extra virgin olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon (4.92 mL) minced fresh oregano
• 1 teaspoon (4.92 mL) kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon (2.46 mL) grated lemon zest
• 1/2 teaspoon (2.46 mL) freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup panko bread crumbs
• Lemon wedges, for serving

Directions

1. Set the Anova Precision Cooker to 146ºF (63.3ºC).
2. In a medium bowl, combine chicken, olive oil, garlic, oregano, salt, lemon zest, and pepper. Using your hands, mix until thoroughly combined. Gently mix in panko.
3. Divide chicken mixture into 12-14 meatballs. Carefully transfer meatballs to a large zipper lock bag. Carefully seal the bag using the water immersion technique. Be careful not to smash the meatballs.
4. Place the bag in the water bath and set the timer for 2 hours.

Finishing Steps

1. When the timer goes off, remove the bag from the water bath. Transfer the meatballs to a foil-lined baking sheet. Heat broiler to high.
2. Broil meatballs until well-browned, flipping once, 5 to 7 minutes total. Transfer to a plate and serve with lemon wedges.