First, apologies for the multiple messages. I got so involved in trying to provide recipes that I left out some conversation. (Who, me?) I included the stock, above, because that's the only context I know for making matzah balls, even though Kframe already has stock. Like for Lowspark, this wasn't a heritage dish for us, but to please the Ashkenazi side of the family my mother persevered until she had something edible. :) These are actually good, and pretty foolproof.

N.B., Many recipes call for onion salt, but it makes the matzah balls bitter.

Oy gevalt! 20 quarts!

I'm thinking a max of maybe 4 quarts for a batch since it's only me.

And don't worry about posting a stock recipe. I'm always looking for different things to put in stock, and rutabega is certainly different...

I love it !!!
so, i cheat and use the box
with home made chicken stock, of course

the spelling;
love that also
but of course 1/2 of the family is
Abramson
and the other 1/2 is
Abrahamson

and maybe we could all be related

Well, I'm not Chinese, or Thai, or Indian, or Ethiopian, or Cuban ... As a matter of fact, I'm Jewish, and, Lowspark, 100% Ashkenazi -- but I use the Manischewitz recipe, too, so don't feel bad. Although I understand they now call for oil, and I use schmaltz. It's SO much better (your cardiologist's mileage may vary).

Matzo balls

2 T schmaltz
2 lg eggs, slightly beaten
½ c matzo meal
1 t salt, optional
2 T water

Mix schmaltz and eggs. Mix matzo meal with salt and blend. Add water and mix. Cover and chill at least 15 minutes.

Boil slightly salted water. Reduce heat to low and add balls (wet hands). Cover and cook 30-40 minutes.

Pillog's tips about the spoon, etc., are excellent.

I don't like the boxed mixes. They have a funny artificial taste to me -- and I don't really see what the point is, anyway. Is there anything besides matzo meal and salt?

There are lots of ways to make the soup itself. Mine is very simple: chicken, water, salt, pepper, celery (no leaves), carrot, onion (discard at end). Other people use lots more ingredients. The two ESSENTIAL things, though, no matter what you put in:

1) Use a KOSHER chicken. The older and fatter, the better. Others just don't taste anywhere near as good. You'll see. If your town doesn't have a kosher butcher or a supermarket with a kosher market, try Trader Joe or Giant Eagle.

2) Cook it a LONG time -- I often simmer (covered) 6 hours. You can add more water if it cooks down too far; you won't lose the rich flavor.

Eat, sweetheart, eat!

I still have a matzo ball sitting in the bottom of my stomach from soup my grandmother made in 1957.

Kframe, if there's something wrong with you for wanting some, then it must be a wide-spread wrongness. :) I find myself wanting some every time our friends here start talking about it -- as well as craving most of the rest of the menu. It just sounds delicious and comforting and wonderful.
(And is that really you in that photo?)

Ok, so if one doesn't cook a lot of whole chicken from which to collect skins, what is the best substitute for schmaltz?

Yes, I use schmaltz too instead of oil. And I actually just drop and boil them right into the soup. I don't bother boiling them separately in water. And I like lots of veggies (carrots, celery, squash, etc) and bits o' chicken in my soup although some like just broth and a big ol' matzo ball as my MIL serves it. I guess mine is chicken vegetable soup with amorphous matzo blobs as opposed to true matzo ball soup.

Maureen, ROTFLMAO!

Maureen! Too funny! Guess it wasn't a floater?

I like them boiled in the soup, as well.

As far as getting the older birds, stewing hens are best for things like this, but good luck trying to find a stewing hen at Giant or Safeway.

So, I add a bunch of thighs and backs to my stock.

It gets you close. Sort of.

linda intennessee, it's good to know there's someone on the forum that's near me. The zipcode was my clue. Mine is 37921.

jude

Good luck trying to find a fryer that isn't the size of a capon too!!

If you don't have trimmings to render for schmaltz, you can buy the most beauteous, perfect, white schmaltz in a brick like butter, especailly at this time of year. That is, if you live where there are any Jews. Sometimes it's in the freezer. Ask around.

There are also some recipes for vegan substitutes on the 'net. I can't remember the sites, but if you do a Google search you should find them. The real trick is the seasoning because when the fat is rendered with onion it takes on a particular flavor.

BTW, I just read somewhere that chicken fat is only half as bad for you as butter. :)

OK, correction. I don't actually use schmaltz. Gellchom was nice enough to post instructions on how to make it and that convinced me I'm not gonna do it. I make the broth in advance, refrigerate it overnight and skim the fat off the top. THAT'S what I put in my MBs.

So.....let's talk size. All the pics of matzo ball soup that I see have only 2 humongous matzo balls sitting in the bowl of soup. Do they have to be that big? Is that the traditional size? Or can you make them the size you want - like smaller?

Renee, it sure LOOKS like MIchael to me....

Annie

Teresa, you can make them any size. They're just dumplings. I have a friend who makes them in juice of a very beefy rich tzimmis. We do one medium sized matzah ball, except for those who want more or less. Mine are about the size of my (small) fist when they're cooked.

Lowspark, that works too! It's just shortening, and any fat will work. The skimmings just don't have the onion flavor. I don't do the cracklings thing. It's very easy (sorry about the "for dummies" version--I wrote it for someone else who doesn't cook):

Rendering chicken fat

Save up the fat trimmings when you make chickens and collect them in the freezer, or use the trimmings from making stock. Put the lumps of fat in a little pan with a small onion or half a large onion, cut into large pieces. Don't put in too much onion or it'll soak up all the fat.

Never turn your back on it while it's on the heat.

Start on a medium high heat until the fat starts to melt. Turn it down a bit so it won't spatter

Once all the fat is melted, turn it off and let it cool just a little.. Pick out the onion and any other solids with a fork, or use a strainer. Put a spoon in a clean jar (sterile if you're not going to use it all up right away). Pour in the fat, carefully. Chill. Keep in the refrigerator. When the fat solidifies the onion juice will separate out of it, as you'll see through the jar. The fat will be yellow from the onion, as well.

Once it's solid, chicken fat can be frozen in an airtight package. Don't put a jar in the freezer.

Beanthere,

Yep, that's me. Pic is about 6 years old, from my old work ID.

Wow! I can't believe that I actually have a real recipe to contribute! Regarding cooking the matzo balls in the soup, when I cook them in water, there's "stuff" in the pot when the balls are done. I'm not sure what the "stuff" is or what it would do to the soup.

Never Fail Matzo Balls (although IÂve never met a matzo ball I didnÂt like)

1 cup matzo meal (I usually use StreitÂs which is where this recipe came from.)
1/3 C. melted margarine (not the low fat kind)
1 tsp. salt (or more if youÂd like-the uncooked dough tastes saltier than it really is.)
dash white pepper
4 eggs
½ cup water (IÂd imagine chicken soup would also be good.)

Beat the eggs with a whisk or mixer. Add the rest of the ingredients, mix well, cover and put into the refrigerator for several hours or overnight.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. With wet hands, form the balls and gently drop them into the boiling water. TheyÂll pop up to the top quickly.

Reduce the heat to a slight bubble. Cover the pot and cook for about 40 minutes or so.

Carefully lift and drain. They freeze well but don't freeze them in the soup because
they'll soak up all of the broth.

Annie, Touche. LOL!
Kframe, very handsome. :)

Nice to know they can be frozen. That tempts me further -- I don't mind eating leftovers a couple of times, but there's a limit.

Well, I doubt that the stuff in the pot is asbestos or Jimmy Hoffa...

It's probably a combination of protein and starch from the matzah flour.

Buy a box of Manischewitz Matzo Ball Mix. Follow the directions on the back, which call for letting the mix sit for 15 minutes. While this is going on, heat up your favorite bouillon with some chicken and veggies, (the ones yoiu like or just have on hand), which you will later eat as chicken salad during the week. Or use chicken bones you've saved from another meal. When chicken is cooked through, strain it out of the broth. Cook the matzo balls according to the directions, and enjoy! In a pinch and you don't have chicken, just use your favorite broth from a can or box.

Teresa,
They can definitely be any size. Many (most?) people like to serve it as a plain broth with one to three medium to large densely packed balls. That's how my MIL does it and how I've mostly seen it done.

I'm the weirdo - maybe because I didn't grow up with them - and I serve it as more of a chicken vegetable soup with lots of veggies and cut up chicken (from the chicken I used to make the broth) with lots of little "balls". My "balls" aren't really balls in the strict sense of the word. I don't shape them or pack them. I spoon them out and drop them into the soup, sorta like when I make chocolate chip cookies.

happygram, I'm guessing the stuff left in the water is just the disintigrated bits of the MBs that have drifted off. Just thickens the soup, maybe. IMO, why waste it? But kframe, I do like the Jimmy Hoffa theory. I'm going to have to consider that carefully!

You know, I'm really surprised.

The two people here at the office who keep Kosher also said that they use the Manischewitz box mix.

I'm shocked!

Well, I want to go old school. I want to try making them myself.

Thanks, everyone, for the recipes and advice. I'm going to give them all a try and see which one I like best.

Lpink, that looks pretty darned good to me. Pretty bowls too, that's a lovely table.

Annie

Looking good Michael. I'm impressed by your Yamaha. But I didn't know you were Japanese.
Say, can you turn Teriyaki Chicken into a live chicken?

No more groaners from me either, promise.

Plllog, your recipe intrigues me. Particularly the addition of beaten egg whites in the matzoh balls. That step has to yield light and fluffy balls (Sorry, I don't normally use that kind of language).
In any case, I look forward to trying this recipe.
Thank you.

Sol

Thanks, Sol--I hope you'll like them! In my family, matzah balls are still called bombs (with a short "o" and Israeli accent) from the days before this recipe. Previously, the only good matzah balls were known to have been in the year we had the Guatemalan nanny, who was a dab hand with dumplings. It was at least 5 years later that we first had these. These aren't rubbery or heavy unless you under cook them. They're fluffy on the outside, and denser but still tender on the inside. If you overcook them (by hours) they dissolve. Four hours, plus or minus an hour, should be just right.

lowspark, I think that that counts as schmaltz. It's still got to taste better than oil or margarine.

If you MUST use oil or margarine, then I guess use some chicken soup instead of the water. If you use schmaltz, don't waste the soup; the schmaltz is strong enough that water is just fine.

Of course, for vegetarians, that won't work, either.

Ya, I make a special vegetarian soup with vegetarian MBs for my younger son. I use oil and water. Whatcha gonna do? I might have to do a taste test this year to see how different they are.

And hey! thanks for the validation gellchom!

Well, there is (or used to be) a schmaltz substitute called Nyafat which I am pretty sure is parve. I think it probably tastes better than oil, but it's probably worse for you.

I have a question about the matzo flour. I can buy the matzo here in cracker form, but not flour. Can I make my own?
Lisa

Interesting, gellchom. I never heard of Nyafat. I just did a cursory search on google and aparently they stopped making it. And I'm guessing it's either never been available in Houston or it's been years since it has. Oh well, that's ok. I really don't need to buy it anyway!!

Lisa,
yup. Just take some matzo and crunch it up in your food processor till it's as fine as you need it to be. I ran out of matzo meal one year and needed just a bit more and did it that way. Worked fine.

What do you all think of King David or Aviv brand Matzah?

Local grocery store is giving away a 5 pound box free with a coupon and a $25 purchase.

For the same amount of purchase plus $2.99, you can get a 5 pound box of Streit's or Manaschweitz (sp?)

Hi,
I have a video of me making Matzoh ball soup that just needs a bit of editing which I should be able to finish and post on my blog by Sunday evening.

There is a recipe that I found online and tweaked which has always been a hit with my shiksa fiance (I mean that nicely) and my family. I believe if you do a google search for "Oma's Matzoh Ball Soup" you'll find it.

This recipe uses whole matzoh crushed up by hand vs matzoh meal which makes for a nice interesting but 'different' looking ball due to the burnt parts (these ain't the traditional soft/golf balls that I was used to).

I'll post back here when I place it on the site, but (here comes the shameless plug) you are more than welcome to browse around and the 3 or 4 other videos that I have posted (none of it is Jewish food, and I encourage you to watch the butternut squash episode to completion).

-- Andy

Here is a link that might be useful: That Jew Can Cook (my blog)

In an ORT (Jewish organization; Connecticut River Valley Region) cookbook from 1973, they had a "celebrities" section. The first recipe was from Prime Minister Golda Meir. Of course it was for ... what else?

Here it is:

Chicken Soup

Cook the chicken with parsley, celery, cut-up carrots, peeled onions, salt, pepper, a pinch of paprika, until the chicken is tender (probably less than two hours).

At will, rice may be added after straining the soup and boiling it for another quarter of an hour.

Mrs. Meir usually serves chicken soup with knaidlach [matzo balls], which she prepares as follows:

Matzot (unleavened bread) are soaked in cold water until soft, then squeezed dry; crush with a fork and add friend onions and a little oil, some parsley, salt, pepper and two beaten eggs. Add enough matza meal to bind. Make into small balls; set aside for one hour.

Half an hour before serving drop the balls into the boiling soup for about half an hour.

With the Compliments
of the
Prime Minister's Office
Prime Minister, Golda Meir

Apparently some people LIKE gluey matzo balls, lol! That's how my Bubbe made them (like Mrs. Meir). Actually, as funny as it sounds, Mrs. Meir LOOKED a little bit like my Bubbe. She would have thrown up her hands in disgust at me and my boxed mix, (my Bubbe, not Mrs. Meir). But in my defense, I rarely make matzo balls (or any other type of dumpling for that matter, since it is just single me), and do not use or keep matzo meal in the house, so it is just easier for me to keep the boxed stuff on hand if I ever get a hankering.

Well, I finished editing the Matzoh Ball Soup video and posted it on the blog.

There is a little cussing occasionally, so you may want to cover any kiddies ears :)

Hope you enjoy!

--Andy

Here is a link that might be useful: That Jew Can Cook (my blog with a Matzoh Ball Soup video)

Kframe asked What do you all think of King David or Aviv brand Matzah?

I'm not familiar with either. For matzah balls, at least until you've made some successfully that you like, I'd use matzah meal as having the right consistency and humidity (that's the wrong word. I'm tired. I mean how dried out it is). Streit's or Manischewitz.

My favorite eating matzah is Yehuda, but it's not as good for American recipes that assume Manischewitz which is stiffer and dryer, and more cracky crumbly. I have some great old recipe books from Manischwitz. I think a lot of passed down recipes come from them.

The big, round Shemura matzah ("guarded" matzah) is very different. Much more like cardboard. Very expensive. Someone has been guarding that wheat from moisture for a long time. Don't cook with it.

Oy!!! I'm not Jewish either so here goes.........

ÂMatzo Balls:
Â1 cup Streit's Matzo Meal
Â4 Large Eggs whipped until light then add to Matzo Meal
Â1/4 cup oil (vegetable or canola)
Â1/2 cup Chicken Broth LOW SODIUM
Â1 tsp salt (or not)
Â6 turns of fresh ground pepper
I add finely chopped onion about 1/2 cup occasionally.

I put this in a bowl in the fridge for about 1 hour to get cold.

I cook a whole chicken until tender in water to cover with chopped carrots, chopped celery and a LARGE onion cut in quarters. When the chicken is falling off the bone I remove it from the broth and debone and remove skin. I set the chicken meat aside in a bowl.

I use an ice cream scoop (Small size) to scoop the matzo ball mix and drop into simmering broth the chicken was cooked in. I let the balls simmer/cook for an hour on low heat and then add the chicken back into the pot.

Taste better the next day.

DL

OK, the store I went to had NO matzah meal. So, I bought the egg yolk free Matzah by Manaschhoweverit'sspelled.

I'll just whirl them in the food processor to get them to a consistency I like.

Andy, I quite enjoyed the cursing. Very un-Rachael Ray.

And we haven't even touched on matzo balls with "neshamas" (souls) -- a little ball of chopped liver in the middle.

Great video Andy! Chicken soup just like Bubbe used to make except she didn't have a spigot on her stockpot! No wonder the stuff keeps all manner of evil away! But you have to get over your turnip issues!
:)

kframe - DS#2 read this thread, and got enough of a kick out of your picture to merit a comment and compliment about you. I asked him if he remembered having dinner with you so many years ago, he didn't, but said that was a pleasant surprise nontheless!

Jessy,

I certainly remember your boys. We had dinner at the Lebanese Taverna in DC.

IIRC, your youngest son was preparing for his Bar Mitzvah at the time.

Well, I made a preliminary batch of matzah balls last night using the Manischwitz recipe. I added some garlic powder. They were kind of soupy, so I had to add some more crushed matzah.

I did them in salted water. I got the water a bit too salty, so the balls were a bit salty.

I also didn't have a can of Progresso veggie soup as I thought, so I had to do them with tomato basil soup.

Not my first choice for a soup, but not terrible.

Anyway...

After 40 minutes of cooking, the balls were nice and done.

They were a little loose on the outside, but nice and dense and chewy on the inside, which is the way I like them.

I'm definitely going to make them again, only this time in a proper soup.

I'm also going to add minced sauteed onion, as I really like that flavor, as well.

Jessica & LPink,
Thanks for the encouraging words -- I tried to abstain from Rachel's yum-o comments, but I guess she is laughing all the way to the bank-o!

Turnips, beets, its all the same :) (I actually love beets, and have yet to try a turnip in anything other than soup -- got any good turnip recipes?)

--Andy

I roast them, with my other roasted veggies, which is the best thing to do with them, IMHO. They are also OK in stir fry. I've had interesting pickled turnips as a side to falafel at the Lebanese deli but I already pickle too much so I'm not going there.

Interesting, I'll try roasting them instead of carrots or potatoes! I've got to be honest, I don't even know how I got 'em (must be my pesky fiance!) :)

(My oldest was getting ready for his BarMi....my youngest finished 2.5 years ago!!!! Ack, time flies!)

Turnips?

You eat them raw.

I LOVE them that way.

i make my balls tiny....smaller than ping pong balls..they have always been fluffy AND delicious.
for some reason i don't like them big.....
good reason to use up the chicken i have in the fridge.....
thanks

My husband loves them raw, too.

I have some in the slow cooker right now in a quasi-Irish stew for St. Patrick's Day.

"quasi" because the recipe sounded just too bland -- only salt and pepper, and me with all those new Penzey's herbs -- so I dumped in some Herbes de Provence and bay leaves. At then end when I add parsley and flour, I'll probably mix the flour with a little wine instead of water. Let Sinn Fein come and get me for inauthenticity.