Page 2 of 2 FirstFirst 1 2
Results 26 to 48 of 48
  1. #26
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    Sunnyvale, CA
    Posts
    1,361
    Streits!!! Eww... Matza Ball JONG.

  2. #27
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
    Location
    BKLYN
    Posts
    850
    this may seem logical- but be gentle with the balls.

    seriously- if you pack em too much like a meatball- the texture will be horrible and too dense.

  3. #28
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Posts
    3,452

    So far, so good

    they're floating!



    as you can see, i need another big pot. the turkey soup is occupying my only big pot.

  4. #29
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Posts
    1,663
    wow, those are some giant balls you have there beandip

  5. #30
    Join Date
    Aug 2007
    Location
    take a guess
    Posts
    2,213
    Adding seltzer is a must regardless of whether the recipe calls for it or not. It helps make the lighter and fluffier, and adds some subtle flavor to them as well.
    Magic Mountain Freeride Team...bringing your grom's game to the next level.

    The only ski you'll ever need...http://worthskis.com/skis/the-magic/

    "Errare Humanum Est"

  6. #31
    Join Date
    Dec 2007
    Location
    No of SoBo, So of NoBo
    Posts
    2,284
    Waiting for soup TR.... those balls certainly look fluffy!
    Outlive the bastards - Ed Abbey

  7. #32
    Join Date
    Feb 2006
    Location
    Skiattle
    Posts
    7,764
    i dont get what the big deal is here
    just use the manischewitz box mix
    ive never not had a light fluffly and tender matzo ball. (unless you boil them)
    steam or boil some chicken half way (so its not fully cooked), and shred it.
    in the soup pot, start with your veggies and sweat them. season liberally with salt and a little pepper. (carrots, celery, onions, a little garlic)
    Throw in the chicken mid way through to finish cooking and to develop some color and flavor.

    deglaze a couple of times, just use water.

    fill pot to desired level with water
    use as much or as little soup mix in the box as you want
    i use about half as I find it gives it a nice sweetness and color to the broth.

    bring to boil

    drop in golf ball sized or smaller matzo balls. Roll\form GENTLY. do not pack.

    turn down to simmer, cover tightly.

    half way through matzo ball cooking, throw in some good egg noodles
    not the cheap ones, but the good ones that look homemade\hand cut
    or make them yourself.
    at this time, also throw in a big handful of fresh chopped parsley

    7minutes later, you're done.


    for the actual matzo butt recipe. (we call them butts instead of balls just to be silly)
    this could be sacrilege, but a very very small amount of sesame oil seems to give them great flavor. add some sesame seeds if you dare. black or white or both.

    ive even changed the soup broth to be asian and it comes out great
    umbrella mushroom, dried bean curd sheets, flat rice noodles, chinese five spice, bamboo shoots, water chestnuts, snap peas, egg drop
    you get the idea

  8. #33
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    Sunnyvale, CA
    Posts
    1,361
    Quote Originally Posted by Pegleg View Post
    Waiting for soup TR.... those balls certainly look fluffy!
    Hopefully with POV footage as well.

  9. #34
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Posts
    3,452
    Quote Originally Posted by pechelman View Post
    i dont get what the big deal is here
    the big deal is that *i* am doing it, and I am a special, special princess and everything I do must be documented, debated, quality-ensured and celebrated, DAMN-IT!!!

  10. #35
    Join Date
    Feb 2006
    Location
    Skiattle
    Posts
    7,764
    ha!
    that really wasnt directed at you, but all the special ingredients and techniques that everyone seems to do

    but i guess everyone's jewish grandma taught them a different way
    i guess i learned the lazy way and just made them from the box how the box said to and never once had a problem.

    the ones in your picture look great!

  11. #36
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
    Location
    [1,575] Minutes away from, NYC
    Posts
    1,092
    mmmmm...matzoh ball soup!! cant get it here either.

    are you looking for floaters or sinkers? apparently there are two schools in this debate. im kind of on the fence myself. i like floaters because theyre airy and delicate and you can easily cut them with a spoon, but the sinkers are hearty and meaty and way better on a cold day, but somewhat tougher to eat sometimes.

    i also use the boxed mix for the balls. manischevitz or osem or whatever they have in the jewish isle should be fine. the main thing is how you handle the egg. for floaters you need to separate the whites and beat them to stiff peaks then fold them gently into the rest of the mix and form balls. for sinkers you just combine all ingredients.

    definitely dont cook them in the same broth as the soup, they will just absorb all the liquid and you wont have any soup left. what i like to do is get some chicken bouillon cubes and add them to the cooking water to flavor the balls, and once they're cooked you can transfer them to the chicken soup and serve like that. also, do batches if you have big matzoh balls. crowding the pot makes it more likely that they will fall apart.

    as for the soup, i always make it from scratch. my grandma's is always clear, so its a true bouillon, but i think she just boils the chicken carcass w/o any meat in the soup. i like to use a roasted carcass from the thanksgiving turkey or pan sear my chicken meat and use that in the soup with the bones. add some carrots, a parsnip, whole un-peeled onion and a bouquet (thyme, parsley stems, peppercorns, bay leaves...rosemary works nice also), top off with *cold* water, bring quickly to a boil, skim the surface best you can, lower the heat to a bare simmer and cook until its done. when the chicken meat is cooked, pull it out so it doesnt get rubbery and shred it. leave bones in for the duration. when the soup is done, strain the solids off. i like to leave the carrots in the soup though (they're tasty). add the shredded chicken and matzoh balls and enjoy.
    "If you are not nervous about your passion, you are not passionate enough about it."

    http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...tionaries3.jpg

  12. #37
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
    Location
    [1,575] Minutes away from, NYC
    Posts
    1,092
    Quote Originally Posted by rideit View Post
    To be absolutely true to the Jewish tradition, make em' and serve them any fucking way you want....

    And then spend the next twenty years arguing about it every holiday.
    HAHA! truth.
    "If you are not nervous about your passion, you are not passionate enough about it."

    http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...tionaries3.jpg

  13. #38
    Join Date
    Nov 2005
    Location
    Redwood City and Alpine Meadows, CA
    Posts
    8,277
    Quote Originally Posted by rideit View Post
    To be absolutely true to the Jewish tradition, make em' and serve them any fucking way you want....















    And then spend the next twenty years arguing about it every holiday.
    Indeed. Yet another illustration of the old maxim: Two Jews, three opinions.
    not counting days 2016-17

  14. #39
    Join Date
    Feb 2006
    Location
    Skiattle
    Posts
    7,764
    Quote Originally Posted by AbsolutStoli View Post
    mmmmm...matzoh ball soup!! cant get it here either.

    are you looking for floaters or sinkers? apparently there are two schools in this debate. im kind of on the fence myself. i like floaters because theyre airy and delicate and you can easily cut them with a spoon, but the sinkers are hearty and meaty and way better on a cold day, but somewhat tougher to eat sometimes.

    i also use the boxed mix for the balls. manischevitz or osem or whatever they have in the jewish isle should be fine. the main thing is how you handle the egg. for floaters you need to separate the whites and beat them to stiff peaks then fold them gently into the rest of the mix and form balls. for sinkers you just combine all ingredients.

    definitely dont cook them in the same broth as the soup, they will just absorb all the liquid and you wont have any soup left. what i like to do is get some chicken bouillon cubes and add them to the cooking water to flavor the balls, and once they're cooked you can transfer them to the chicken soup and serve like that. also, do batches if you have big matzoh balls. crowding the pot makes it more likely that they will fall apart.

    as for the soup, i always make it from scratch. my grandma's is always clear, so its a true bouillon, but i think she just boils the chicken carcass w/o any meat in the soup. i like to use a roasted carcass from the thanksgiving turkey or pan sear my chicken meat and use that in the soup with the bones. add some carrots, a parsnip, whole un-peeled onion and a bouquet (thyme, parsley stems, peppercorns, bay leaves...rosemary works nice also), top off with *cold* water, bring quickly to a boil, skim the surface best you can, lower the heat to a bare simmer and cook until its done. when the chicken meat is cooked, pull it out so it doesnt get rubbery and shred it. leave bones in for the duration. when the soup is done, strain the solids off. i like to leave the carrots in the soup though (they're tasty). add the shredded chicken and matzoh balls and enjoy.
    i *really* love what you do with a benedict, but please, dont ever make me matzo ball soup

    floaters vs sinkers has to do with how you cook the ball, and nothing to do with the egg prep. if you boil them or simmer to high, the balls will sink. If you lightly simmer them, they will float.
    I get floaters 100% of the time and have never separated or beaten egg whites to do so.

    Im different I guess, because I prefer to cook my balls in the soup.
    I want them to absorb all that yummy broth i just made.
    To fix the problem of no broth, I add a ton of water beforehand and use a large pot. Basically I use about 50% more I think than what the box says. I just eyeball the water in my pot, never measured it.

    your broth sounds like mine, ie delish, but i dont bother straining
    i like it hearty and rustic

  15. #40
    Join Date
    Dec 2007
    Location
    No of SoBo, So of NoBo
    Posts
    2,284
    Agree with pechelman - straining out the veggies from the broth is a waste. I use one round of veggies to make the stock (onion, carrot, celery), remove those, then add a new round (same plus parsnips, turnips and garlic) for the last simmering, to give fresh flavor and also to eat.
    Outlive the bastards - Ed Abbey

  16. #41
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
    Location
    [1,575] Minutes away from, NYC
    Posts
    1,092
    Quote Originally Posted by pechelman View Post
    i *really* love what you do with a benedict, but please, dont ever make me matzo ball soup

    floaters vs sinkers has to do with how you cook the ball, and nothing to do with the egg prep. if you boil them or simmer to high, the balls will sink. If you lightly simmer them, they will float.
    I get floaters 100% of the time and have never separated or beaten egg whites to do so.

    Im different I guess, because I prefer to cook my balls in the soup.
    I want them to absorb all that yummy broth i just made.
    To fix the problem of no broth, I add a ton of water beforehand and use a large pot. Basically I use about 50% more I think than what the box says. I just eyeball the water in my pot, never measured it.

    your broth sounds like mine, ie delish, but i dont bother straining
    i like it hearty and rustic
    haha! ill have you know that one of my friends mother asked me to make matzoh ball soup for passover last year and then wrote me a postcard asking for the recipe. and shes no noob in the kitchen either.

    i wouldn't say that egg prep has nothing to do with floaters vs sinkers, just the amount of air in the balls as a result of whipping the whites should contribute to something. but you are probably right in that its not the only factor. ive only made them a couple of times, so im no expert by any means.

    and as for straining, it all depends on the veg. i keep carrots in because they are edible and sweet after the cooking process, maybe leeks too if you dont start out with too big a chunks. but i wouldn't want to eat a parsnip or a chunk of onion thats been cooking for hours. same with celery if you use it...it just gets cooked out and mushy. nothing against adding fresh veg once the stock is done to get a hearty soup. that i can totally agree with. but thats just how i was taught.

    i also like adding cooked buckwheat to the soup instead of noodles. it really adds a nice nutty flavor, and keeps it kosher for passover.

    PS - thank you again about the benny's.
    "If you are not nervous about your passion, you are not passionate enough about it."

    http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...tionaries3.jpg

  17. #42
    Join Date
    Feb 2006
    Location
    Skiattle
    Posts
    7,764
    Quote Originally Posted by AbsolutStoli View Post
    and as for straining, it all depends on the veg. i keep carrots in because they are edible and sweet after the cooking process, maybe leeks too if you dont start out with too big a chunks. but i wouldn't want to eat a parsnip or a chunk of onion thats been cooking for hours. same with celery if you use it...it just gets cooked out and mushy. nothing against adding fresh veg once the stock is done to get a hearty soup. that i can totally agree with. but thats just how i was taught.

    i also like adding cooked buckwheat to the soup instead of noodles. it really adds a nice nutty flavor, and keeps it kosher for passover.
    ive done leeks too in the soup and love it.
    I may have even done some fennel, or maybe not. Ive made it so many times and so many different ways I honestly forget.

    I guess i leave all my veggies in there, because I dont cook it anywhere near "hours" and size the veggies appropriately. Infact, if it takes me longer than an ~hour to go from prep to eating, my lady starts to get dangerous

    Basically, the broth and veggies are just on the stove long enough to bring them to a boil and cook the matzo balls. ie 20-30mins. Doesnt sound like much to be able to develop the flavors, but the couple of deglazes I do beforehand really help develop flavor quickly. (i use the same technique when doing french onion soup and it kills)

    And I cheat and use some of the seasoning package

    and they do make kosher egg noodles btw!

    Ive always wanted to cook with matzo balls in other cuisine and other preparations. Just never done it because theyre so perfect where they are. Though maybe some classical french preparation with plating a half ontop of some sauce with some sort of fish quenelle could be killer.

  18. #43
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Posts
    5,722
    i have to say that the one thing i really miss since becoming a vegetarian is the chicken soup the matzo balls come in. Mom is nice enough to make vegetable broth, but, you know.......it's not the same.

  19. #44
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Posts
    331
    Lots of good info in this thread.

    I have not made this in ages but do remember using two spoons (quenelle method) to form the balls before dropping them worked really good. Before I had a tendency to overwork them and was shown this trick by one very fucking crazy Austrian dude!

  20. #45
    Join Date
    Feb 2006
    Location
    Skiattle
    Posts
    7,764
    im not sure if its been mentioned here, but one thing ive found that really helps with forming the balls is to make sure the mix is super cold and your hands are wet.

    generally speaking, I throw it in the freezer for the 10 minutes it takes me to get the broth boiling.

  21. #46
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
    Location
    [1,575] Minutes away from, NYC
    Posts
    1,092
    Quote Originally Posted by pechelman View Post

    Ive always wanted to cook with matzo balls in other cuisine and other preparations. Just never done it because theyre so perfect where they are. Though maybe some classical french preparation with plating a half ontop of some sauce with some sort of fish quenelle could be killer.
    hmmm...i might be tempted to experiment. maybe matzoh balls in other soups...borscht perhaps? i dont know...might not end up good, but might end up really fucking delicious too!

    or maybe like a stuffed matzoh ball. like a matzoh ball knish (stuffed with mashed potatoes), or matzoh ball varnishkes (stuffed with kasha). mmmm ill get back to you. haha
    "If you are not nervous about your passion, you are not passionate enough about it."

    http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...tionaries3.jpg

  22. #47
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
    Location
    [1,575] Minutes away from, NYC
    Posts
    1,092
    bump!

    its that time again. im going to my friends' place again this year and they've commissioned me for the soup. im pretty excited.
    "If you are not nervous about your passion, you are not passionate enough about it."

    http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...tionaries3.jpg

  23. #48
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Location
    Dystopia
    Posts
    21,054
    One word



    BACON

    admit it, if you could have a bacon matzoh ball, it would be the best ever.
    maybe even put some cheeze in the mix.

    Imagine a bacon grilled cheese dumpling. I think I just invented heaven.
    . . .

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •