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Turkey balls...

aprilmei

By aprilmei
in Cooking

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aprilmei

aprilmei

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A few days after Thanksgiving I was wandering around one of the upmarket food shops in Hong Kong and something in the chilled meat section caught my eye: "turkey fries" (imported from the US). This isn't something I've ever seen before and to tell you the truth, it hadn't occured to me until that moment that turkeys actually have "fries" (not that I make a habit of contemplating male poultry anatomy) but now that I think about it I guess they would have to have balls or else there wouldn't be any baby turkeys.

Anyway, they were fairly inexpensive (about US$2.50 for a pack) so I bought them and took them home. When I told my boyfriend he asked "WHY???" and I said it's because I've never tasted them before - not a point he understands. Tried to google how to cook them - but there's not much out there. I did learn that turkey testicles are internal and they're near the kidneys.

From other recipes on more "common" types of ex-male animal parts I found they should be peeled - but it seemed impossible with these because the membrane is very thin, so I didn't. These turkey balls were wobbly - like jello, and there were many sizes in this packet. I cut them in half, sprinkled them with salt and pepper, dipped them in egg and panko, then fried them. I worried (from reading the other recipes) that they would splatter a lot as they fried because balls are supposed to be full of liquid of some type, but it wasn't bad. The result? Very mild flavour and very tender; you'd never guess what you were eating. When you bite into it, it looks like very finely minced meat but the texture is different. I read that these parts resemble kidneys in taste and texture but I think it's more like brains. They'd be good prepared in a similar way: fried and served with beurre noisette. Yes, I'd eat them again. But I wouldn't ever attempt to serve them to my boyfriend.

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KatieLoeb

KatieLoeb

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:blink:

You're a braver woman than I. I thought you meant that tail end that we unceremoniously refer to as the "Pope's Nose".

Brava. You are curious and courageous, an excellent combination of attributes.

Katie M. Loeb
Booze Muse, Spiritual Advisor

Author: Shake, Stir, Pour:Fresh Homegrown Cocktails

Cheers!
Bartendrix,Intoxicologist, Beverage Consultant, Philadelphia, PA
Captain Liberty of the Good Varietals, Aphrodite of Alcohol

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MarkinHouston

MarkinHouston

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April, you did exactly what nearly every VFW, American Legion post, and numerous other fraternal organization would do, which is bread them and deep fry them. Over here it would be the boyfriend eating them among his hunting buddies and not offering them to the girlfriends.

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HKDave

HKDave

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I worried ... that they would splatter a lot as they fried because balls are supposed to be full of liquid of some type...

Balls contain "liquid of some type" that can splatter.:hmmm: I wonder what that liquid could be?

Hong Kong Dave

O que nao mata engorda.

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aprilmei

aprilmei

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I worried ... that they would splatter a lot as they fried because balls are supposed to be full of liquid of some type...

Balls contain "liquid of some type" that can splatter.:hmmm: I wonder what that liquid could be?

Dave, I didn't want to think about that too much.

I think what surprised me most was the difference in size, although why should turkeys be any different from humans? Some were tiny - about 2cm and the largest were about 7cm.

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KatieLoeb

KatieLoeb

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I think what surprised me most was the difference in size, although why should turkeys be any different from humans? Some were tiny - about 2cm and the largest were about 7cm

Depends on the size of your statistical sample, I think... :rolleyes:

Katie M. Loeb
Booze Muse, Spiritual Advisor

Author: Shake, Stir, Pour:Fresh Homegrown Cocktails

Cheers!
Bartendrix,Intoxicologist, Beverage Consultant, Philadelphia, PA
Captain Liberty of the Good Varietals, Aphrodite of Alcohol

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aprilmei

aprilmei

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I think what surprised me most was the difference in size, although why should turkeys be any different from humans? Some were tiny - about 2cm and the largest were about 7cm

Depends on the size of your statistical sample, I think... :rolleyes:

My observation of the differences in size comes solely from what I've seen in paintings, of course. :rolleyes:

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