Rob Eshman's Matzo Balls
To me, great matzo balls should be as soft to eat as knaidel, the Yiddish word for matzo ball, is hard to spell. Here's my go-to recipe.
Ingredients
- 4 eggs
- 1/4 cup schmaltz (chicken fat) or cold-pressed vegetable oil
- 1/4 cup chicken stock or water or seltzer
- 1 cup matzo meal
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4-1/2 tsp ground white pepper
Instructions
- In a large bowl, mix all the ingredients. Do not overbeat. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until well-chilled– two hours or more.
- Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil. Wet your hands. Take a lump the size of a large walnut and using your palms, form into a round shape. Drop into the water, reduce heat to a simmer and cover. Cook for about 40 minutes. Don't peak.
- Remove the balls with a slotted spoon. Taste one to make sure they're cooked through– they probably will be. Serve in hot soup, sprinkled with fresh parsley and dill.
Notes
As with most simple foods, the important variations are in technique, not ingredients. If you’ve been blessed to learn how to make matzo balls by watching your grandmother, mother, or mother-in-law, and she knew what she was doing, you’re fortunate: it’s all in the details. Here are my tipes to making the best knaidel (or matzo balls).
- Mix the batter lightly, don’t beat it.
- Let the dough sit in the refrigerator until it is well-chilled.
- Give those matzo particles time to absorb liquid and fat deep into their stiff-necked cells.
- Form the dough again with a very light, but confident touch.
- Roll pieces the size of a large walnut between your palms, quickly, but don’t rush it. The rounder the ball, the more attractive—a misshapen ball floating in soup looks disturbingly like a brain.
- But don’t obsess: you don’t want to press the air out. You’ll get the hang of it.
- Finally, once your balls are simmering, DO NOT lift the lid to peek.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
