So my mother in law makes incredible rice balls or arancini if you will for Christmas. Basically cheesy rice balls, stuffed with meat and peas, breaded and fried. I was thinking about them the other day and looking what I had in my pantry. Came across a yellow rice packet that is preseasoned an can be microwaved and/or cooked on the stove. I usually eat this kind of rice with Mexican food so my wheel started turning... I decided to try out the same basic concept of my mother in law's rice balls but with a Mexican twist. And since everything I have made on the Vortex that I usually eat fried comes out great, I decided these were to be cooked on the Vortex. Here's the recipe I came up with by combining a few Italian rice ball recipes to fit the amount of rice and other ingredients I had on hand:
4 cups of cooked yellow rice
1 cup of home smoked habanero cheddar, shredded
1/3 cup of asiago cheese, shredded
1/4 cup of chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 pound of homemade Mexican chorizo
2.5 eggs (I used the equivalent amount of liquid egg whites which made measuring 1/2 an eggs worth easy)
Seasoned breadcrumbs
More egg whites for the egg wash
And here is the process:
1. Prepare rice as directed
2. When still warm, mix in cheeses, eggs, and cilantro until combined
3. Place the rice, covered in the fridge for 2 or more hours
4. While the rice is in the fridge, brown the chorizo (I had some leftover slice red onion so I fried those up with the onions.)
5. Once it cools down, stick the chorizo mixture in the fridge to cool
6. Take 1/2 cup cold rice mixture and form a cup in your hand by pushing and indent in the middle. Fill that indent with the chorizo mixture. Take another 1/2 cup of rice and press it over the top of the bottom piece. Roll into a ball (Some of the chorizo might end up getting out of the center but thats ok).
7. Roll the rice ball into the egg wash and then into the seasoned breadcrumbs
8. Stick in the fridge until you are ready to throw them on the grill
9. Light the Vortex (or any grill, oven, smoker) to 450+ degrees
10. Indirect grill them 30-40 minutes until they are nicely browned and hot throughout (I temped them with a thermopen and they were about 160-180 inside depending on side
Here are some pics of the process and then the verdict:
The Verdict:
I will definitely be making these again. Time consuming but fairly easy to make. The flavor was great! The smokey, spicy cheese really came through in the rice. The chorizo was a great compliment to the cheesy rice and the outside was so incredibly crispy. The Vortex is truly amazing at giving you the fried texture on the grill. I'm sure italian rice balls would be great prepared this way as long as all other varieties. Think I am going to make these or something like it as an appetizer this Easter.
Thanks for looking!
-Chris
4 cups of cooked yellow rice
1 cup of home smoked habanero cheddar, shredded
1/3 cup of asiago cheese, shredded
1/4 cup of chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 pound of homemade Mexican chorizo
2.5 eggs (I used the equivalent amount of liquid egg whites which made measuring 1/2 an eggs worth easy)
Seasoned breadcrumbs
More egg whites for the egg wash
And here is the process:
1. Prepare rice as directed
2. When still warm, mix in cheeses, eggs, and cilantro until combined
3. Place the rice, covered in the fridge for 2 or more hours
4. While the rice is in the fridge, brown the chorizo (I had some leftover slice red onion so I fried those up with the onions.)
5. Once it cools down, stick the chorizo mixture in the fridge to cool
6. Take 1/2 cup cold rice mixture and form a cup in your hand by pushing and indent in the middle. Fill that indent with the chorizo mixture. Take another 1/2 cup of rice and press it over the top of the bottom piece. Roll into a ball (Some of the chorizo might end up getting out of the center but thats ok).
7. Roll the rice ball into the egg wash and then into the seasoned breadcrumbs
8. Stick in the fridge until you are ready to throw them on the grill
9. Light the Vortex (or any grill, oven, smoker) to 450+ degrees
10. Indirect grill them 30-40 minutes until they are nicely browned and hot throughout (I temped them with a thermopen and they were about 160-180 inside depending on side
Here are some pics of the process and then the verdict:
The Verdict:
I will definitely be making these again. Time consuming but fairly easy to make. The flavor was great! The smokey, spicy cheese really came through in the rice. The chorizo was a great compliment to the cheesy rice and the outside was so incredibly crispy. The Vortex is truly amazing at giving you the fried texture on the grill. I'm sure italian rice balls would be great prepared this way as long as all other varieties. Think I am going to make these or something like it as an appetizer this Easter.
Thanks for looking!
-Chris
