How To Make Matzah Balls

I think most everyone has tried chicken soup with matzah balls. When my old workmates discovered I knew how to make matzah balls from scratch they used to beg me to make a batch of soup and bring it in for lunch.

I’ve found many recipes over the years and for the most part they all taste the same. In the “old days” chicken fat was used instead of oil. This made the matzah balls quite tasty, but today most people won’t use chicken fat due to the nutritional or lack of nutritional content.

Here’s the basic recipe:

½ cup matzah meal
4 eggs
4 tablespoons oil
4 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon salt

Mix the oil and eggs together in a bowl. Beat in the water and salt. Slowly add the matzah meal and blend thoroughly. Cover and refrigerate 30-60 minutes.

Boil a pot of water. Wet your hands with cold water and form small balls. Drop the balls into the water. They will expand in the water. Simmer about 45 minutes.

Serve matzah balls in a bowl of hot chicken soup.

Depending on how dense you want the matzah balls there are a few things you can try. You can add more matzah meal, making the balls heavier. You can substitute seltzer for the water. This should make them a bit lighter. You can try refrigerating them longer. I’ve actually covered them and refrigerated overnight. Other people separate the eggs and first beat the egg whites, then add the yolks and oil to mix.

One of things my kids have always loved about matzah balls is frying them up the next day. We slice them in frouths and then slowly cook them so they heat through in a frying pan. If you put some butter in the pan, they’ll come out almost like pancakes.

Matzah balls also freeze quite well. Put them in either water or chicken soup and store in a plastic container in the freezer.

Enjoy experimenting and finding a consistency and density that your family enjoys.

Audrey :)