What would Chicken Soup be without Matzo Balls?! Some like them light; some make them heavy. In our family we call them sinkers versus floaters. We are a “sinker” family! We like how dense and flavorful they are.
As one of the ways to make Passover more magical for children, we came up with the idea for Lucky Matzo Balls. Matzo Balls with a surprise inside — a crunchy hidden nugget of gribenes.
Everyone fights over these delectable, flavorful morsels so we thought it would be fun for the kids to find gribenes hidden inside some, but not all, the matzo balls. Voila, the Lucky Matzo ball!
Each year, our kids and our friend’s kids get so excited when they sink their spoon into their matzo ball and discover that theirs is one of the “lucky” ones. It turns the ordinary experience of eating matzo ball soup into an extraordinary experience! Fun and laughter all around!
Makes approximately 50 small or 25 medium-sized Matzo Balls
Ingredients
FLOATERS- 1½ cups matzo meal
- 10 eggs
- 2 tbsp salt
- ½ cup schmaltz, melted
- bowl of water for wetting hands to roll matzo balls
- 1½ cups matzo meal
- 6 eggs, well beaten
- 1½ tsp salt
- 9 tbs schmaltz, melted (1/2 cup + 1 tbsp)
- 4 tbsp chicken stock or water
- bowl of water for wetting hands to roll matzo balls
Instructions
FLOATERS- Separate the eggs into two bowls.
- Beat the whites until stiff with a hand mixer or stand mixer with whisk attachment.
- Beat the yolks, schmaltz & salt until light.
- Fold the egg whites into the yolks.
- Gradually add the matzo meal. Stir until smooth.
- Let rest for 10 minutes at room temperature.
- Form balls with wet hands and rest on parchment lined cookie sheet. To make some "Lucky Matzo Balls," insert a small piece of gribenes in the center of the matzo ball (we usually put gribenes in a third of our matzo balls.)
- Carefully drop the balls into boiling salted water or clear soup stock (1 tsp salt to 1 quart water). Simmer for 20 minutes and serve. Or, drain well and add to our Golden Chicken Soup Stock.
- Blend the matzo meal with the salt and the schmaltz.
- Add the well beaten eggs.
- Mix thoroughly and add chicken stock or cold water to make a dough firm enough to be shaped into balls. Let rest 15-20 minutes.
- Form balls with wet hands and rest on parchment lined cookie sheet. To make some "Lucky Matzo Balls," insert a small piece of gribenes in the center of the matzo ball (we usually put gribenes in a third of our matzo balls).
- Carefully drop the balls into boiling salted water or clear soup stock (1 tsp salt to 1 quart water).
- Simmer for 20 minutes. Drain well and add to our Golden Chicken Soup Stock.
May I substitute the shmaltz for oil in the Matzoh balls?
sure. that should work well.
My grandmother from Lithuania would make surprise Matzo balls on Passover. In the center she would make a mixture of egg yolk,schmaltz,matzo meal,salt, and cinnamon .
Always a dash of cinnamon in the matzo soup…or is a mother’s kiss!
Have you tried to make Gluten free Matzo balls?
Love matzo balls Would like to make them. What is schmaltz. Help. Thank you
Would love to make the matzo balls but please tell me what is. Schmaltz? Thank you
OY! My mother made some exactly like this – I’ve never seen or heard reference to them anywhere else! She called them “bullets”, and I loved them. I haven’t made them since my children left home, for some reason….but this year? Yes! Oh, Rhonda, thank you. (My heritage is Lithuanian in part.)
I make my brisket very similar to yours using the onion soup mix with V8juice and searing meat first and just laying the brisket on a bed of onions and carrots!!! Comes out delish!! And I love your chicken soup recipe!!!
Schmaltz is rendered chicken fat.
Schmaltz is rendered chicken fat.
Just heard Andy Goldfarb talking about this (and other things) on Chagigah – WERS in Boston, and am thrilled to see this recipe and the whole site! What a gem. I can’t wait to start cooking and reading. Thank you.
I’ve made them using the recipe on the box of gluten-free matzo meal. The people who are gluten free like them.
hi there,for how long can I store Matzo meal?…… I find it difficult to get hold off in Cape Town South Africa..when I do..would like to buy plenty…. can I store in air tight container in fridge? or freezer?
As long as it’s kept in a cool, dry place (no fridge or freezer) it is good to use past the expiration date (usually one year from purchase).
What are gribenes? How do I make it?
See the recipe here:
https://breakingmatzo.com/recipes/schmaltz-gribenes/
Rendered chicken fat. Boil the chicken skins in water. When the water is gone you are left with pure chicken fat or schmaltz. Refrigerate.
Keep in mind, unlike regular matzo balls that work best having the raw mixture rested for a few hours in the fridge, GF matzo balls need to be made immediately. If you leave them in the fridge to rest they simply cook up as mush, since there’s no gluten to hold them together! (Yes, I learned that the hard way. 😉 )
Yes!!!❤
Why not freezer? I do it as matzo meal does go rancid.
My grandma made matzoh balls like this. I tried the centers turned out like lead wow the surrounding matzoh ball was soft and fluffy. I could use some hints to make this work. I would love to make them for my family it’s always been a nice memory of my grandmother.
A little seltzer makes matzo balls really light and fluffy.