I have to admit, United Airlines is on a roll lately when it comes to meals in domestic first class. I think the carrier has finally realized that simpler is better and my chicken meatballs this week hit the spot.
United Airlines First Class Taste Test – Chicken Meatballs
Among my pre-order options this week for my flight from Milwaukee (MKE) to Denver (DEN) I noticed a new choice, chicken meatballs.
Chicken meatballs with roasted peppers, polenta, and Calabrian chili sauce.
United has offered both “beyond meat” and beef meatballs in the past, but this was the first time I had ever seen chicken meatballs on the menu.
By the way, Calabrian refers to a region in Southern Italy.
It is a peninsula bordered by Basilicata to the north, the Ionian Sea to the east, the Strait of Messina to the southwest, which separates it from Sicily, and the Tyrrhenian Sea to the west.
I was hoping for a simple dish with a decent sauce and that is exactly what was served. The sauce was actually quite sweet and was a nice accompaniment to the polenta (boiled cornmeal). The meatballs were tender and lightly spiced (without tasting like manufactured mystery meat).
Lunch was served with salad and cake. Bread was offered later, but I declined it.
CONCLUSION
The chicken meatballs are not a bad dish. In fact, they are quite good and I will order them again. Believe it or not, I prefer it to the cheeseburger and fries!
My Meal of the Week feature examines an airline meal from my travels over the years. This may be a meal from earlier in the week or it may be a meal served over a decade ago.
Polenta is made from flint corn, while grits are made from dent corn. Flint corn contains less starch than dent corn, which is why cooked polenta is less creamy than cooked grits.
For polenta, it is all about the corn. Italian food is very simple but very hard to replicate with the same quality of the food you eat in Italy. Why? The type of the ingredients.
As you mentioned, real polenta uses flint corn and not dent corn. Like real pasta and pizza uses 00 wheat flour. Tomato sauce uses San Marzano tomatoes. Risotto uses Carnaroli or Vailone Nano rices. All very simple but yet specific.
00 flour, San Marzano tomatoes and carnaroli rice are all available in the US and for affordable prices, as is high quality pasta.
I am in the process of making polenta now. To be served with a vegan chili. Don’t judge, I figured it it’s close enough to cornbread.
While I have never made chicken meatballs, I thought they should be browned for flavor. Those look a little pale. Maybe it’s just the photo?
On a roll Matthew, roll, not role.
speaking of rolls, they still aren’t serving bread?
I did mention that I declined it. 😉
Interesting, regular first class meals are quite good, but the “premium” transcon Polaris routes have had the same meal for years???
Yes, Matthew has already commented on that in previous posts.
I’d love to see the list of ingredients in this. I am going to imagine it’s a scroll of scary proportions.
I honestly don’t understand why U.S. airlines refuse to take a lesson from European carriers in offering delicious and more healthy meals that are simple and can be served on one hour flights. And no, the market is not so culturally different. And if Bubba complains that it’s not full of sugar enough he can grab a pre flight meal at PF Changs To Go.
Honestly, why would anyone want to eat this? From the same airline that gives us a microwave cheeseburger in intl J that comes with a muffin.
They seem to catering to people with Matthew’s palette, so I guess they are doing a good job?
Palate. Damn you know who!
Icelandic has a keto meal pack that is super tasty. Mostly just Whole Foods. I know salami is processed but salami cheese raw veggies even smoked salmon etc so tasty healthy and as you say easy to pack and prepare.
Keto is a terrible diet for the vast majority of people.
I’m not seeing what is wrong with this meal. Polenta with tomato sauce is certainly not unhealthy, especially in that portion size, and those meatballs appear pretty lean and will have a decent amount of protein.
Funny the reviewer ate it and applauded the effort. Commenter didn’t eat it, yet derided it. Interesting. United certainly has their work cut out for them trying to please their fliers.
@Gulli
I am on UA flights every week. Both domestic and Intl. I have tried most every meal on both. Especially on long hauls without a connection to grab something healthier. I pick away at parts and what I think may be less sugary and ingredient lad. I can assure you that they are ALL disgusting. While I don’t know where they source their beef from, the only thing I can consider edible is the Filet in Intl J (no sauce) when eaten by itself.
By contrast I also fly on European, ME, and Asian carriers regularly as well. Healthy and simple is not that difficult. In fact, most non U.S. carriers have been doing it for years.
Could not agree more. You probably don’t want to know how those “meatballs” were made. Hard pass.
I agree with Stuart, even though there are huge variations in intra Europe catering. As an example, Aegean have no trouble partnering with celebrity chefs and masters of wine etc… Lufthansa not so much. The few times I have flown TAP and Iberia European business class, they seemed to strike a good balance between tastiness, nutrition, and simplicity.
Yikes! Those meatballs may have tasted great but they could not have looked more disgusting!
Disgusting garbage. Very sad the author thinks this is acceptable food. Pathetic.
When did you try it?
I agree with you 100%. I actually had the same entree as you on my flight from SFO to Calgary last week.
I cleaned the plate. Given how unhealthy most airline meals are, these chicken meatballs were tasty and I did not feel bad in finishing the dish. United really has stepped up its hot meals and even service was very good. It certainly beats Air Canada’s catering on flights of similar flight lengths.
This looks like a move back toward the healthier options that United had before the merger, when meals were often grilled chicken salads or stir fried chicken with noodles.