Buffalo Chicken Cheese Balls

Buffalo Chicken Cheese Balls
Saw these made on FN the other day. I made them for Jon out of some leftover chicken. He loved them. I didnt make the blue cheese dip because he hates blue cheese

Makes 15 to 20 balls

Ingredients
1 store-bought rotisserie chicken
1/4 cup hot sauce (recommended: Frank's Red Hot)
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 3/4 cups sharp Cheddar
1/4 cup freshly sliced scallions
1 cups all-purpose flour
3 eggs, lightly beaten
2 cups panko bread crumbs
Vegetable oil, for frying

Blue Cheese Dip:
1 1/2 cups mayonnaise
1/2 cup packed blue cheese, broken up
1/2 teaspoon hot sauce
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 lemon, juiced
1 teaspoon chopped garlic

Directions

Have oil heated to 350 degrees F.
Pick the meat from the chicken and discard the skin.
Place the chicken in a large bowl and add the hot sauce, pepper, cheese, and scallions, and toss to combine.
Roll the chicken into 2-ounce balls, about the size of a golf ball.
Place the flour, eggs, and bread crumbs in 3 separate bowls.
Roll each ball in the flour, then the egg and then the bread crumbs. Set aside.
When the oil is hot fry the chicken balls in batches.
Cook for about 2 minutes per batch.
Remove the chicken to paper towel lined plate to drain the excess oil.
To make the sauce, combine all ingredients in a large bowl and adjust the seasoning if necessary.
Serve the chicken alongside the dipping sauce.

I made a big 6 pound roasting hen the other day and used the white meat from it for the recipe. A lot of times when I make a roasted chicken I save the white meat for white wine chicken soup. Dice it up and toss it in the freezer til Im ready for soup. This was a nice way to use the white meat that Jon enjoyed. He doesnt like soup of any kind. I have the hen carcass in a big pot as we speak with herbs, garlic and onion to make some broth.

"Pick the meat from the chicken and discard the skin.
Place the chicken in a large bowl and add the hot sauce, pepper, cheese, and scallions, and toss to combine."


When you removed the meat from the bones, did you then dice it up or shred it into tiny pieces?

These do sound good Janie! I am wondering couldn't you just make tham the size of a patty (Like a croquet?) and then pan fry then and serve as your meat for a main course? The small ball size would seem more an appetizer or snack.

Shred it.
That sounds like it would work fine Cathy.

Throws a chicken wing at Cathy cause she blocked my question. I'm just going to throw the whole chicken into the food processor cause with all the bones it won't fit into the blender.

These sound delish, janie!

The Ironic Chef said:

Throws a chicken wing at Cathy cause she blocked my question. I'm just going to throw the whole chicken into the food processor cause with all the bones it won't fit into the blender.

Click to expand...

I ducked just in time and the wing just boomeranged and caught you right on the bridge of your nose!

But seriously I read shred it, so she answered your question 1st

I believe these would be terrific served on a bun with lettuce and condiment of choice!

usually when I shred a chicken I have 2" or so pieces. That sounds kind of big to roll into chicken balls. I was thinking to dice it or give it a pulse or 2 in the processor depending on how much of a mess I want to clean up. I did see that she would dice up left over chicken for a soup. was that the chicken used?

He just shredded the meat with his fingers when I watched him make these.
I used two breasts from a big 6 pound roasting hen which I shredded with my fingers. When he made them they were bigger balls...like golf ball size.
So I made ours golf ball size but Jon said he would like them smaller next time. If you wanna make them bite size you would def want to chop the chicken up smaller.

Thank you for the shredding and chopping advice. I am going to make these up for a Superbowl snack. I will make the sauce without the blue cheese. Maybe I'll add sour cream to replace it.

We dipped ours in this roasted garlic dip from another recipe.

ROASTED GARLIC DIP
2 heads garlic, bulbs separated into cloves
1 tablespoon olive oil
5 tablespoons sour cream or strained plain yogurt
4 tablespoons mayonnaise
paprika, to taste
salt

MAKE THE ROASTED GARLIC DIP:
Preheat the oven to 400°.
Place the garlic cloves in an ovenproof dish, then pour in the olive oil and toss to coat.
Spread out in a single layer and roast in the preheated oven of 25 min or until tender.
Remove from the oven and let stand until cool enough to handle.
Peel the garlic cloves, then place on a heavy cutting board and sprinkle with a little salt.
Mash well with a fork until smooth.
Scrape into a bowl and stir in the sour cream and mayonnaise.
Season to taste with salt and paprika.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let chill until ready to serve.