Mini Chicken Kievs
These Chicken Kiev Balls are ultra crispy on the outside and oozing with a gorgeous garlic butter!
Servings: 20 kievs balls
Cost: £2 / $2.50
Equipment
- Small Mixing Bowl & 1tsp Measuring Spoon (for garlic butter)
- Parchment Paper (for freezing garlic butter)
- Large Mixing Bowl & 1tbsp Measuring Spoon (for meatballs)
- 3 Shallow Bowls (for coating meatballs)
- Pot Suitable for Deep Frying & Slotted Spoon (for cooking kievs)
- Kitchen Thermometer (for deep frying)
- Wire Rack & Paper Towels (for resting kievs)
- Box Grater (for onion)
- Fine Cheese Grater (for parmesan)
Ingredients
Garlic Butter
- 4oz / 120g Lightly Salted Butter
- 2 tbsp very finely diced Fresh Parsley
- 2 cloves of Garlic, grated/minced
Meatballs
- 1lb / 500g Ground Chicken (see notes)
- 3/4 cup / 45g Panko Breadcrumbs (see notes)
- 1/2 cup / 40g freshly grated Parmesan
- 1 small White Onion, peeled & grated on a box grater
- 1 Egg
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 1/4 tsp Black Pepper
Coating
- 1 cup / 60g Panko Breadcrumbs
- 1/3 cup / 70g Flour
- 2 Eggs, beaten
- Salt & Pepper, as needed
- 3-4 cups / 750ml-1litre Vegetable Oil (see notes)
Instructions
- Garlic Butter: In a small bowl add butter, parsley and garlic. Mash with a fork until evenly combined. Use a 1 tsp measuring spoon and scoop out the butter into 1 tsp portions on a sheet of parchment paper. You should get around 20 balls of butter. Place in the freezer for 30-60mins, or until nice and firm.
- Meatballs: Meanwhile in a large mixing bowl add chicken, 3/4cup breadcrumbs, parmesan, egg, onion and salt & pepper. Use your hand to combine until everything is evenly distributed, then use a 1 tbsp measuring spoon to scoop out chunks of meat. You should get around 20 chunks. Place a piece of garlic butter in the centre of the chunks of meat then roll into meatballs, ensuring the butter is contained.
- Coat: Line up 3 bowls - the first is flour with a pinch of salt and pepper, the second is 2 beaten eggs and the third is breadcrumbs with a pinch of salt and pepper. One by one coat the meatball in flour, then egg and finish in a good coating of breadcrumbs. Repeat with remaining meatballs.
- Fry: Heat up enough oil to comfortably cover the size of a kiev in a suitably sized pot. You want to temp to get to 175C/350F. Once you've reached that temp carefully lower in 5-6 kievs and fry for 4-5mins, or until deep golden and crispy. Place on wire rack with paper towels underneath to catch excess oil. Repeat with the other batches.
- Serve: Allow to cool for a few mins before tucking in as the butter is likely to be very hot. Serve up as finger food with a dip or with fries to make a meal!
Video
Notes
a) Chicken - Ground chicken is tricky to find in the UK but Morrisons have recently started selling it. Just check if it's seasoned or not, ground chicken runs the risk of being quite bland if it's not seasoned properly, but you might not need the 1/2 tsp salt if it's pre-seasoned. If you can't find ground chicken I recommend pulsing 1lb/500g boneless skinless chicken thigh in a food processor until it mimics a ground meat texture. I have done this before and works just as well.
b) Panko Breadcrumbs - Panko breadcrumbs are great because they're so big and airy, meaning not only do they crisp up well, but they also cling on to a good amount of moisture in the meat, which ensures they don't dry out. You'll find them in the Asian section at the store, but if you can find them just use regular dried breadcrumbs, preferably not the dusty variety.
c) Oil - You want something with a high smoking point like rapeseed, vegetable or sunflower oil. Olive oil is not suitable for deep frying and will smoke out the kitchen. Whilst I haven't tried it you could probably get away with shallow frying in a pan (fill oil to half way up the size of a kiev and turn regularly).
d) Can I bake these instead of frying? - I have tested baking these and they don't hold up quite as well. The increase time subjected to heat means the garlic butter has more time to leak out.
e) Calories - per kiev assuming 1/2 tsp oil is soaked up per kiev. Slight over estimate as not all the flour/egg/breadcrumbs attach when coating.
Nutrition
Calories: 145kcal | Carbohydrates: 6.24g | Protein: 6.53g | Fat: 10.6g | Saturated Fat: 6.114g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.841g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2.816g | Trans Fat: 0.236g | Cholesterol: 59mg | Sodium: 204mg | Potassium: 155mg | Fiber: 0.4g | Sugar: 0.52g | Vitamin A: 242IU | Vitamin C: 0.9mg | Calcium: 40mg | Iron: 0.7mg