DUCK BALLS

Duck Balls image

Yield Makes about 2 dozen 1 1/2-inch meatballs

Number Of Ingredients 8

4 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup fresh orange juice
1 fennel head, sliced into 1/2-inch-thick rounds
2 pounds ground duck meat and skin
2 large eggs
3/4 cup bread crumbs
2 slices fresh white bread, finely diced (about 1 3/4 cups)
2 teaspoons salt

Steps:

Preheat the oven to 450°F. Drizzle 2 tablespoons of the olive oil into a 9 × 13-inch baking dish and use your hand to evenly coat the entire surface. Set aside.
Bring the orange juice to a boil in a small pot over high heat and reduce by three-quarters, about 5 minutes. Set aside and allow to cool.
Lay out the fennel rounds in a separate 9 × 13-inch baking dish. Drizzle with the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil and 1/4 cup water. Roast until soft, translucent, and beginning to brown, about 20 minutes. Place in the refrigerator to cool. Once they are cool, chop them finely.
Combine the chopped fennel and reduced orange juice with the ground duck, eggs, bread crumbs, bread, and salt in a large mixing bowl and mix by hand until thoroughly incorporated.
Roll the mixture into round, golf ball-size meatballs (about 1 1/2 inches), making sure to pack the meat firmly. Place the balls in the prepared baking dish, being careful to line them up snugly and in even rows vertically and horizontally to form a grid. The meatballs should be touching one another.
Roast for 20 minutes, or until the meatballs are firm and cooked through. A meat thermometer inserted into the center of a meatball should read 165°F.
Allow the meatballs to cool for 5 minutes in the baking dish before serving.