BENTO BALLS (AKA FRENCH HAMBURGERS)

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Bento Balls (Aka French Hamburgers) image

My kids and I spend Wednesdays out in the woods either hiking, biking, or letterboxing. We have to take a huge lunch with us and usually it's a Japanese-style bento with onigiri, some protein item, and lots of vegies and pickles. More often than not, my kids will pick this for the protein...it's basically a french hamburger recipe that has been adapted for our bento lunches. Cooking time will vary with how large your patties are. The sauce is a true basting sauce and these will not be in a soupy sort of base. The point of bentos is to make the food as fuss-free to eat as possible. The meat mixture is soft and a bit tricky to work with, but the result is a moist patty that doesn't need condiments and isn't a rubbery hard superball.

Provided by Akikobay

Categories     Lunch/Snacks

Time 1h10m

Yield 6 serving(s)

Number Of Ingredients 11

1 cup fine dry breadcrumb
1 cup havarti with dill (grated)
3 tablespoons prepared horseradish
3 tablespoons dried onion
1 teaspoon salt (or salt-spice mix of your choice, we prefer a Creole seasoning)
1/2 cup cottage cheese (or 1/4 cup dairy of some sort)
1 large egg
1 1/2 lbs ground turkey
1/2 cup butter (melted)
1/2 cup ketchup
1 -2 tablespoon soy sauce

Steps:

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare a baking sheet by lining with parchment or foil.
  • Lightly coat the parchment or foil with cooking spray.
  • Mix the bread crumbs, havarti, horseradish, dried onion, salt (or spice-salt mix), cottage cheese, and egg together in a large bowl. (Please note that the horseradish should be prepared, i.e., the creamy kind that is mixed with mayonnaise. We use the Beaver brand.).
  • Allow to stand for 5 minutes to soften the bread crumbs.
  • Mix in the ground turkey.
  • The meat mixture will be very soft.
  • Form the meat into balls that will fit into your bento box(or on your plate).
  • Flatten slightly so that the meat is formed into shapes resembling patties.
  • Place in the oven to bake for 20 minutes.
  • Meanwhile, make the basting sauce by combining the melted butter, ketchup, and soy sauce.
  • Carefully turn the patties over and put them back in the oven until 20 minutes before the meat is cooked through.
  • **********.
  • The time to finish cooking will depend on how large you made your patties.
  • I use a meat thermometer to check for doneness.
  • **********.
  • Approximately 20 minutes before the meat cooks through, baste one side of the meat with the sauce, returning to the oven for 10 minutes.
  • Turn and baste the other side and return to the oven for the remaining 10 minutes.
  • Let cool, add to your bento box, and have a great day hiking.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 437.3, Fat 26.7, SaturatedFat 12.8, Cholesterol 153, Sodium 1210.2, Carbohydrate 21.8, Fiber 1.4, Sugar 7.8, Protein 28.9

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