Italian Fried Duck Balls
These Italian Fried Duck Balls are made with a combination of ground duck meat and pork along with parsley, garlic, and Parmesan cheese. It doesn’t matter if you serve these duck meatballs as a main dish or appetizer, as long as you serve it!
Servings: 20 meatballs
Ingredients
- 3 ounces day old bread (crust removed and broken into small pieces)
- ½ cup milk
- 12 ounces skinless duck breast (from 2 birds), minced or ground
- 6 ounces ground pork
- 2 eggs
- 2 ounces shredded Parmesan cheese
- 2 Tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- 1 Tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
- ¾ teaspoon black pepper
- ¾ cup Italian style breadcrumbs
- 1 cup canola oil or vegetable oil for frying
- 1 cup store-bought marinara sauce for dipping
Instructions
- In a bowl, soak crumbled bread in the milk for 2 minutes, then squeeze out the milk and use a fork to break up the bread. Discard the milk.
- Combine the ground duck, ground pork, soaked bread, eggs, Parmesan, parsley, garlic, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Knead with your hands until well incorporated. (Do not overmix or meatballs will be tough.)
- Divide meat mixture into 20 portions (3 Tablespoons each). Roll portions between your wet hands to form meatballs.
- Dredge each duck meatball in Italian breadcrumbs until well coated. Transfer to plate, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until ready to use. (Meatballs can be refrigerated for up to 24 hours.)
- When you are ready to fry the duck balls, preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- On the stovetop, heat oil in Dutch oven or 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Once the oil is shimmering, add half of the meatballs and cook until browned on 1 side, about 2 minutes. Flip meatballs and cook until browned on opposite side, about 2 minutes. Transfer meatballs to a parchment-paper lined rimmed baking sheet. Repeat with remaining meatballs.
- Place the meatballs in the preheated oven and bake for about 5 minutes until they reach an internal temperature of 160 degrees F (necessary for ground pork) using an instant-read meat thermometer.
- Serve duck balls immediately while still hot with a side of marinara sauce for dipping.
