Simple chicken balls with homemade gin mayonnaise: the perfect gin afternoon tea savoury

Warm, crispy, golden balls of chicken infused with creamy mayonnaise, sharp parmesan and sweet brioche, and sprinkled with fresh basil and parsley. The homemade mayonnaise combines a hit of citrus, the warmth of freshly-cracked black pepper, some heat from mustard, and a hint of Christmas trees from the juniper in the gin and mixes it into a creamy and velvety dip. Paired together, these simple chicken balls and homemade gin mayonnaise excite the taste buds and leave you wanting more.

I’ve wanted to share a fun gin afternoon tea menu for a long time. Not one that just served a gin cocktail as part of the spread, but a carefully curated selection of simple, gin-infused dishes. It’s not one for kids (though we’ll have a kid’s afternoon tea menu soo, too).

This recipe for warm chicken balls with homemade gin mayonnaise is the first in our gin afternoon tea menu. They’re simple and delicious and will leave your guests wanting more.

Disclosure:
Some of the links below are affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Please read our full disclosure for more information. 

Our Gin & Tonic Afternoon Tea Menu

Bottom – sandwiches

To be announced

Warm savoury

These simple chicken balls with homemade gin mayonnaise.

Middle – Scones

Foolproof featherlight scones

Lime, orange and gin marmalade,

Clotted cream

And a special gin-themed jam, to be announced.

Top layer – Small cakes

These were delicious…

To sweeten the deal

Fortnum’s London Gin Chocolate Truffles and Rose Petal and Gin Ganache Chocolate Truffles

Beverages

Gin & Tonic Tea

You can probably guess where this is going…

How to make homemade mayonnaise (and why you should bother)

You should have a homemade mayonnaise recipe in your arsenal. I’d simple, tasty, ultra-creamy, versatile and so easy to control what is going into it.

Add your own combination of herbs, spices, garlic, citrus juice – or indeed gin! – and change it up a little to suit your recipe.

Which gin should you use?

Simple. I used London dry gin.

Avoid any fruity, pink or flavoured gin or any overly strong gin, like gunpowder gin.

You don’t need to buy the most expensive gin you can find either. You are not necessarily going to drink it. It should still be something pleasant and drinkable though (use the same rule as you would for wine in cooking).

Can you use non-alcoholic gin? Possibly. I’ve never seen non-alcoholic gin for sale here, so I cannot say it will work. If you try it, please let me know how it went.

What about the other mayonnaise ingredients?

Use any mild oil you like. I use canola oil. Olive oil can have a strong flavour (especially extra virgin olive oil), which is overpowering in the mayonnaise. Don’t use coconut oil: it will solidify in the fridge.

This recipe works best if your egg is at room temperature and not straight out of the fridge. Likewise, your gin and lime juice should be at room temperature and not be ice cold for this recipe.

Tip: If you prefer aioli, add some garlic and adjust your seasoning. Your garlic, gin and lime are strong flavours and will compete with each other. Make sure you taste your aioli to check it’s balanced.

The simplest way to make homemade gin mayonnaise

My favourite tool for making homemade gin mayonnaise or any homemade mayonnaise is an immersion blender. I prefer one with a detachable blending arm as it’s easier to clean. This cordless one is so easy to use (no cord to drag through your mixture) and it comes with a handy blending jar.

Combine all the ingredients in a blending jar and place the blending end of the blender into the jar so it sits on the bottom of the jar. Pulse until the homemade gin mayonnaise starts to emulsify and turn a pale yellow or cream. Move the blender up and down to incorporate any oil sitting on the top and mix until well combined. Taste test, adding more salt, pepper, lemon, gin or oil as needed. Your mayonnaise will be ready in a few minutes.

This mayonnaise is also easy to make in a regular blender. Place all the ingredients, except the oil in the blender and pulse for about 5 seconds. Remove the middle part of the lid, turn the blender on low and gradually add the oil. Gradually increase the speed from low to high until the mayonnaise thickens.

It will thicken a little in the fridge.

What do you do if your mayonnaise breaks?

Sometimes, homemade mayonnaise, whether with gin or without will break, leaving you with a curdled mess.

Whole egg adds more liquid. Mustard is an emulsifier. Both help prevent the mayonnaise from separating or curdling. Sometimes it’ll still happen.

To fix it: put one teaspoon of mustard in a bowl. Whisk and slowly beat in the broken mayonnaise, bit by bit, until it becomes creamy again and looks right. If this does not work, you can try using one egg yolk and adding the broken mayonnaise little by little to emulsify it again.

Why you should make these chicken balls

These delicious and simple warm chicken balls are great as snacks for game day, binge-watching your new favourite show or as appetizers for a gathering.

They’re baked in the oven, not browned in a pan, which makes them even simpler to make. You can set them in the oven and forget them until the timer goes off and their are nice and golden.

They’re made from fresh ingredients, making them both simple and delicious. Sharp cheddar, fresh parsley, basil, and spring onion, sweet brioche, and creamy mayonnaise make a wonderful combination.

Paired with this homemade gin mayonnaise, the simple chicken balls are elevated to something unique and wonderful.

What if you don’t like chicken?

My immediate thought when trying to decide what to serve with the homemade gin mayonnaise was crab cakes. Lobster would work well too (though it would be more expensive). I can’t have seafood (allergies), so I had to think of an alternative.

Chicken was my happy, seafood-free alternative. Lemon and basil work well with chicken and gin (both are used to flavour gin or as garnishes).

I love sweetcorn and will try some corn fritters with this recipe sometime soon. (I couldn’t find a recipe similar to my favourite corn fritter recipe to share).

9 tips for making these simple chicken balls

The good thing about these simple chicken balls they cook in the oven. You won’t have to watch the pan continuously to ensure they don’t burn and fall apart when you try and turn them. They are also relatively small, so they don’t take long to cook.

1. Use fresh basil and parsley if you can. To cut basil, lay your basil leaves on top of each other, roll lengthwise to keep them together, and then slice razor-thin strips from one end of the roll to the other. If you use flatleaf parsley, the leaves are often big enough to use the same technique.
2. Make sure your cheese is fresh. We used flaked parmesan and the little hints of strong cheese were lovely. Grated would work also.
3. Don’t precook the spring onions or garlic.
4. Use generic (storebought) mayonnaise for the chicken balls, not your gin mayonnaise or any homemade mayonnaise.
5. For the fresh breadcrumbs: I used brioche slices and blitzed them for a few seconds in a blender (I have this one in red) until I had a nice, fine texture. The sweetness of the brioche was lovely. I started with three slices but added two more to get the right meatball consistency.
6. Season well.
7. Use your hands to mix. Get in and squeeze and push the mixture and work out some frustrations until it is well combined.
8. Roll the mixture into evenly sized balls, approximately 2.5 to 3 cm in diameter. Place them on a lined baking tray or cookie sheet to prevent them from sticking. I recently discovered parchment-lined aluminium foil, but you can use baking paper or aluminium foil as you prefer.
9. Serve with toothpicks for easy dipping. I love these toothpicks with gold pearls.

How many should you serve?

As with most warm savoury afternoon tea options, you should allow 2 to 3 of these simple chicken balls per person.

Allow about 1 tablespoon of the homemade gin mayonnaise per person, too.

Can you make these simple chicken balls and homemade gin mayo in advance?

Yes. You should use the mayonnaise immediately or refrigerate until needed.

Keep your homemade gin mayonnaise in an airtight container or jar in the fridge. It will last as long as your egg would have lasted, so normally about a week. If your eggs are fresher eggs, the mayonnaise may last longer.

Once you have mixed and formed your chicken balls, you can place them in a pan, cover them and freeze them. When you need them, remove them from the freezer and defrost them in the refrigerator overnight.

You can store cooked fritters for up to three days in an airtight container in the fridge. For the perfect crispy chicken balls to go with your homemade gin mayonnaise for your gin afternoon tea, we’d recommend serving these fresh.

To reheat them, cook them in a frying pan over low heat with a little oil of your choice until warm. Alternatively, place the cooked simple chicken balls in an oven-safe dish, cover the dish with aluminium foil to prevent them from becoming too dark and bake them in a preheated oven (at 150°c) until warm (about 20 minutes).

We had no chicken balls left – they went quickly. The little amount of left-over mayonnaise paired nicely with some cucumber slices and brie on crackers. Apparently, it went well with our salmon sandwiches, too.

Can I make this recipe vegan?

If you want to, why not?

Find your favourite recipe for vegan fritters or cakes. Something like these zucchini fritters from Loving it Vegan would work well. Make them a little smaller (one-third of the size) so they are suitable for your gin and tonic afternoon tea.

For the mayonnaise, start with your favourite vegan mayonnaise recipe. Add the gin, lime juice and season for taste. You may need to adjust the amounts a little to get the right consistency.

Are you planning your own gin infused afternoon tea?

These simple chicken balls with homemade gin mayonnaise are a delightful savoury for your gin afternoon tea. The combination of flavours highlights the gin without being overpowered. The recipe has been simplified – throw the ingredients together in a bowl, no precooking, mix with your hands, and bake in the oven – so you will want to cook it again and again.

But can you taste the Christmas trees?

Make sure you see the other gin-infused recipes in our gin afternoon tea menu!

Save for later!