It’s really cool to find inspiration by seeing something from a new perspective, and that’s how this recipe came about. Through my affiliation with Nabisco, I was asked to make some original recipes using Ritz crackers for the Super Bowl. I didn’t want to go with the usual idea of what you can do with cheese and crackers-I had to go big. Now, one of my favorite tailgate foods is Buffalo wings . . . question was, how to combine them? Ahaaa . . . this is my solution.
| Yield: | 8 to 10 |
Ingredients
- 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- 3 cups crumbled Ritz crackers (about 3 small sleeves)
- 1 tablespoon freshly cracked black pepper
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 1 tablespoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon celery salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin 1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
- 3/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 2 cups crumbled blue cheese Canola oil, for frying 1 egg
- 1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 tablespoon minced pickled
- 1 celery head, cut into matchsticks
- 1 1/2 cups hot sauce (I recommend Crystal)
Instructions
- 1. In a meat grinder with a medium die, grind the chicken thighs to “chili grind,” or have your butcher do it for you. In a large bowl, combine the chicken, 11/2 cups of the Ritz crackers, the black pepper, paprika, basil, cel-ery salt, cumin, white pepper, half the cayenne pepper, and 1 cup of the blue cheese. Mix well to incorporate. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours and up to 24 hours.
- 2. Preheat the oven to 275 degrees F. Pour 2 inches of canola oil into a large, deep skillet and heat the oil to 350 degrees F over medium-high heat. Set a cooling rack over a baking sheet.
- 3. Form the chicken mixture into walnut-size balls and set them aside on a plate. Beat the egg in a shallow bowl and place the remaining 1 1/2 cups crackers in another bowl. Dip each ball in the egg and then roll it in the crackers, covering it thoroughly. Add the balls to the hot oil (in batches so as not to crowd them) and fry until golden brown, about 2 minutes. They cook very quickly, so working with a few at a time will help. As they finish cook-ing, place the balls on the rack over the baking sheet. When all the balls are fried, place the baking sheet in the oven and bake for 10 minutes.
- 1. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan over low heat, melt the butter. Add the garlic and jalapenos and cook 2 minutes. Stir in the hot sauce and keep warm over low heat.
- 2. To serve, drizzle the hot sauce over the Buffalo balls or serve it as a dip on the side. Celery sticks and the remaining blue cheese make a cooling addition.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 10 servings |
| Calories | 423 |
| Total Fat | 32 g |
| Saturated Fat | 6 g |
| Carbohydrates | 15 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 1 g |
| Sugar | 2 g |
| Protein | 20 g |
| Cholesterol | 96 mg |
| Sodium | 1164 mg |
Reviews
These were great! Used ground chicken from meat market.. definitely a keeper! Great for app or we had in a wrap with romaine and blue cheese dressing for dinner. . Thanks! Delish
These actually tasted better the second time around. I froze the left over meatballs and reheated them a couple of weeks later. They went faster than the original. Good recipe.
OMG, these were INSANE. Perfect, super crunchy morsels of chicken wing tasty nibbles. I also used Panko instead of Ritz crackers and baked them (but I did toss them lightly in canola/olive oil to help brown them after a while in the oven. The only thing I am a little annoyed about it all the extra blue cheese I had leftover and the recipe does not give you a dressing to make, so I hit the Joy of Cooking cookbook and made some. I will make these AGAIN AND AGAIN. I swear every walk of life will like these! Oh and I used ground chicken (who has a meat grinder lying around?. Also, I agree with previous reviewer, let the individual choose how much dipping sauce to flavor their balls.
My sister and I made these for a recent family gathering and they were a big hit. We cut carrot and celery sticks to use for skewers and served them with Ranch dip and bottled hot sauce on the side. We took some liberties with the recipe, using ground chicken, no white pepper (since she didn’t have any, 1/2 tsp. cayenne (vs. 3/4 tsp, no jalapenos and only 12 oz bleu cheese. Our recipe was “on the fly” with available ingredients we had on hand. Our store only had 12 oz pkgs of bleu cheese, so we went with less vs more (less costly, obviously. Even with all our changes, these were really good. Definitely a new addition to our munchie recipe category. Our family ranges from those who don’t eat hot/spicy foods at all, all the way to those who can’t get it hot enough; so we played it safe and let everyone suit themselves. I belong to a ladies card group, and I can’t wait to make these again! I hope you enjoy them as much as we did :
Made these with ground turkey breast as well cause that was what I had available. They were the hit of the party!!! I’ll also try just baking them next time an skip fat of frying. They were great!!
I tried your guide TWICE. Not good. Very unhappy with your version. Tomorrow I’m giving your RECP again tomorrow at a friends Michigan V OSU Game and will let them make the final decision. BTW not a fan of either team so if its not good hey will tell me.
nice change of pace from regular hot wings. recipe made 24 nice size balls. added 1/2c parm cheese to sauce right before serving (tip i picked up from DDD. another great recipe Guy!
These were great. I used ground turkey and baked them instead of frying – they were super crispy. Also subbed gorgonzola for bleu and used panko crumbs instead of ritz…Just sort of improvised with what I had in the house. I had Trader Joe’s Blue Cheese and Pecan dip and put a dollop on them. They were great. The cheese leaked a bit but it was fine…most of it stayed in the balls! Will make them again..two on a plate with the hot sauce and the dollop of bleu cheese dip makes a great presentation!!
These were awesome! I made them for a football game with friends. Everyone raved about how good they were.