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Matzo Ball Recipe Needed Please

post #1 of 28
12/12/05 at 7:16pm
Thread Starter 
I need a "gold standard" recipe for Matzo Balls. Please include technique tips and emphasize key steps (what little) if possible.

I know I can count on you folks. :D

Thanks a bunch!
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post #2 of 28
12/13/05 at 5:59am
Kuan, this is going to sound really lame.....I've cooked for orthodox Jews for years...when I use the box of matza meal their happiest....I'd love to see CC, Suzanne's and Mezz's recipes.
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post #3 of 28
12/14/05 at 4:56am
Thread Starter 
Yeah what's up CC, Suzanne, Mezz? Anyone else? :D
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post #4 of 28
12/14/05 at 9:58am
My mom's recipe produces home-style, quenelle-shaped dumplings. Here are the directions:

Use one egg for every two diners.

Beat the eggs and add a pinch of salt per egg. Stir in matzo meal (NOT the mix) until the mixture is the consistency of cooked oatmeal. I have no idea how much, but I'll guess it could be 1/4-1/3 cup per egg. Cover bowl and chill at least 30 minutes.

Since matzo balls absorb broth like sponges, I usually cook them in light broth or water with some flavor from soup base, boullion cubes, etc. I toss in a little dill weed, too. You can cook them in the soup, but it'll reduce the amount you'll have left to serve!

With the cooking liquid at a low boil, use a soup spoon to scoop ovals of batter. Lower the spoon into the liquid and gently shake them off the spoon. Continue until you've used all the batter. Cover tightly and continue at a low simmer about 30 minutes. Don't peek! Serve in hot chicken soup. You can include noodles or cooked kasha in the soup bowl as well.

They do freeze well in liquid.

For pretty matzo balls I use the Manischewitz mix (which has you rolling balls of batter), but for me they are the equivalent of Twinkies, with my mom's version being madeleines. :D

Did that help? This is Jewish soul food which I learned to make in my mom's kitchen; there were no measuring implements.
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post #5 of 28
12/14/05 at 12:10pm
Thread Starter 
That helped. You know we always poached them in plain water at the country club where I worked but poaching them your way sounds a lot better. Half the time at our place they would turn out like bricks, half the time light, half the the time so-so. It all depended on who made them.
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post #6 of 28
12/14/05 at 1:55pm
Kuan, to be honest I like them heavy like cannonballs! But I've never been able to make them that way.
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post #7 of 28
12/14/05 at 2:06pm
We went to the Jewish Festival a couple of weeks ago. Had a good turnout, lots of fun stalls. The food tent outside--temp was in the teens so it was good and cold. One of the food stalls was doing sandwiches and matzo ball soup. I've never been a dumpling fan, but my wife is. The soup was good, flavorful, fairly high meat content and good vegies, but the matzo part wasn't my favorite. Wife loved it. Kids were indifferent. The balls were certainly sinkers, but I don't know if I'd have called them cannonballs.

Had some awesome bagels too, falafel and latkes were all gone, as were most of the food booths. Should have gone earlier.

And in that miserable cold tent, a young string quartet played the whole time. Real troopers.

Phil
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post #8 of 28
12/14/05 at 5:43pm
Ya know, you guys are the coolest people on the planet. I love you all.

Just tonight, I swear to God this is true, just before I logged onto Cheftalk, I was contemplating doing a matzo ball soup article for my cooking column.

I did my doctorate degree at Yeshiva University in the Bronx. I'm not Jewish so I didn't grow up learning traditional Jewish recipes. One of the best things about my school was not the education, but the AWESOME matzo ball soup they served every day in the school cafeteria. I can't put into words how good it was and I ate it every time I had lunch there.

I've never been able to recreate matzo ball soup as good as their's. I suspect a lot hinges on a real good homemade chicken stock and extra egg yolks in the matzo mix, right?

Mark
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post #9 of 28
12/15/05 at 11:41am
Club soda baby!The magic ingredient! I'll elaborate later, Mark you closet jew you :crazy:
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post #10 of 28
12/15/05 at 11:50am
2 tablespoons oil
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1/2 cup Matzo Meal
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons soup stock or club soda

Mix the oil and eggs together. Mix and add Matzo Meal and salt. When well blended, add soup stock or soda. Cover mixing bowl and place in refrigerator for at least twenty minutes. Using a two or three quart size pot, bring salted water (or soup) to a brisk boil. Reduce flame and into the slightly bubbling liquid drop balls formed from above mixture. Cover pot and let cook 30-40 minutes. Have soup at room temperature, or warmer, and remove matzo balls from water to soup pot. When ready to serve, allow soup to simmer for about five minutes. Recipe makes eight balls.
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post #11 of 28
12/15/05 at 6:04pm
Chrose:

I'm printing your recipe as we speak.

I'm going to make it this weekend. Thank you.

Mark
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post #12 of 28
12/15/05 at 8:11pm
Aw, that's for fancy schmancy matzo balls! Mine is for the true kneidlach.

MarkV, you're a member of the tribe once you've eaten your body weight in matzo balls. Sounds like you're in! :D
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post #13 of 28
12/16/05 at 10:47am
Well I've gained weight since graduate school so I think I have to work on renewing my membership!

:smoking:

Mark
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post #14 of 28
12/17/05 at 7:00am
Sorry to come so late to this thread, but in any case I don't really have much to add. My mother always followed the recipe on the Manischewitz matzo meal box, and after many years of practice developed the perfect lead sinker. :p The first time I tried to make them (same recipe), they were so light they all blew apart and my soup looked like stracciatella. :blush: That was close to 30 years ago and I've rarely had the courage to try again.

I do agree with the seltzer use, though. And this is one of those dishes you have to practice, practice, practice!
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post #15 of 28
12/17/05 at 9:32am
Thread Starter 
So the generally preferred type is the "cannonball sinker" matzo ball?

Any preferred matzo meal?
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post #16 of 28
12/17/05 at 9:42am
Kuan, I use Manischewitz because I can always find it. I've been making them since I was about ten years old, and that's the only brand I've ever used. I have no idea if one brand of matzo meal would be better than another, given that matzo is just flour and water- unless they use egg matzo to make it, which I have yet to find.

Suzanne- I can't believe there's anything you'd be afraid to cook! Come on over to my house and we can make a pot of them together. :D
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post #17 of 28
12/18/05 at 12:13pm
TOTAL DISASTER

Followed the matzo ball recipe to the letter. I used the Manischewitz. Rested it in the fridge for 23 minutes. (Box says only 15 minutes). The batter was so fluid I couldn't form balls. I tried dropping spoonfuls of it into the simmering chicken stock hoping I would at least get some clumps, but the batter was so loose I ended up with matzo mash soup. I don't know what the seltzer is for.....the LAST thing this recipe needs is more fluid. I'm going to try this again with more matzo meal and no seltzer.

What a waste of my homemade stock.

Mark
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post #18 of 28
12/18/05 at 2:11pm
OOh... it wasn't even good for a clarifying raft!?

Did you use the mix or the plain matzo meal? I'm guessing you used Chrose's recipe. If it's that loose, just add more matzo meal. Let it sit if you need to, but it should be okay if it's still pretty cold. Was the soup just simmering or more at a boil?

I also find that egg size has an effect. I use jumbos at home; since I didn't learn with measurements, I go for the appearance of thick oatmeal or Malto-Meal.

The Mezzaluna Matzo Ball Academy is now accepting students. Travel expenses are not included, but tuition is free. :roll:
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post #19 of 28
12/18/05 at 6:06pm
I used the mix.
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post #20 of 28
12/18/05 at 6:34pm
Mark, I have no idea why it flopped. Give my recipe a try, but don't waste your good stock on the effort- use soup base.... just in case.
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post #21 of 28
12/18/05 at 6:38pm
Mark,
I just checked and yes I still have a box of matzoh ball mix in the cabinet. It said to use 2 eggs, 2T oil and the mix, that's it. No other liquids hmm.... Mix the eggs and the oil, and then the contents of "the packet". The "packet" felt like a 1/2 cup or so. Stir with a fork and let sit in the fridge for 15 minutes. Use wet hands to form small balls. Cook it in the boiling water and then add it to the soup.
This should change things. I guess the liquid works better if you make the recipe with the same eggs and oil, add the club soda and bump up the matzoh meal to 1 cup. Or reduce the oil to 1T and add 1-2 T Club Soda (or fine, water)
If you're still ot happy, here's a link to pick and choose from.
http://www.jewish-food.org/recipes/pmaindex.htm
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post #22 of 28
12/19/05 at 2:43am
Chrose:

Yes, the packets are a half cup each. I measure everything exactly the first time I'm doing a recipe. Your recipe is what's on the box plus the soda. Ya know, I made the box recipe years ago, (sans seltzer) and even then I have a vague recollection of it being on the watery side. When I have some time I'm going to re-tool this bad boy.

Mark
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post #23 of 28
12/23/05 at 7:01am
NO! No lead sinker matzoh balls!

Do NOT use matzoh meal!!!!

My grandmother made matzoh balls so light that you had to climb onto a ladder to eat them.

I have to find the recipe, but she soaked matzohs in water, squeezed them dry, used egg, parsely, salt, etc. Rolled into balls smaller than a golf ball, left in the fridge with just wax paper and then, into the soup. DIVINE!!!!
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post #24 of 28
1/4/06 at 9:50am
OK I re-tooled.

1 cup matzo meal
4 eggs + 1 egg yolk
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon kosher salt

Mix and rest 1 hour. Simmer in chicken broth.

I had tasty, firm, matzo balls.

However, I want richer balls. (No comments please :D ) So I'm going to try it again with a higher ratio of yolks. I'll keep you posted.

And I don't care if they sink like the Titanic.

Mark
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post #25 of 28
1/4/06 at 2:27pm
Mark, call me if you can get them to sink! My lifelong quest is for heavy matzo balls, more like the bready knoedl, but I've never been able to with my mom's recipe- even leaving the lid off!

What a problem to have, eh? ;)
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post #26 of 28
1/5/06 at 9:12pm

Healthy Winter Matzo Ball soup

One of my favorite soups. I don't follow specifics, but just make basic old fashioned soup with homeade broth and fresh ingredients.

Matzo balls: I like to add a blend of fried (in healthy vegetable oil) chopped shiitake mushrooms, onions, and garlic to the matzo ball mix. I skip using chicken fat and use Smart Balance butter instead. A dash of sea salt and fresh ground pepper seems to be enough. The rest is a matter of following the instructions on the box of grain.

Broth: I make the broth the day before, with a skinned, whole Kosher chicken, sea salt and a variety of pepper corns, bay leaves, carrots, celery, parsley, and onion. No need to chop them too much and make them look nice, because they come out the next day, along with the fat that I skim off the top. Remove chicken and let cool after overnight refrigeration.

Add new fresh sliced carrots, celery, onion, parsely, and your choice of favorite seasonings to broth. More cooked mushrooms for real mushroom lovers is optional. Cook vegetables in broth until ready. Add chicken meat and matzo balls.

It's that simple, but very delicious and healthy. I'm not a pro, but this seems to work out fine if you want a healthy and nourishing chicken matzo ball soup.

For a more extensive, professional list of recipes, consider visiting http://www.cookinglinkcentral.com
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post #27 of 28
2/19/06 at 2:26pm
Eek! I'm very surprised to hear people craving heavy/sinking Matzo Balls! That's always how I know my recipe has failed :eek: I'm Jewish and grew up in NY, and all of my relatives craved the light fluffy kind.
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post #28 of 28
2/19/06 at 3:04pm

Matzoh Balls

Use soda water for the balls. Light and fluffy. I simmer in chicken stock, but that's just me. I like the extra chickeny flavor.
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