Don't worry if you notice something that looks like, well, "white goo" leaking from the edges of your turkey meatballs after they bake. This goop (← technical, very professional culinary term) is similar in texture to cooked egg whites. It's a mix of water and protein that's released from the turkey as it cooks and shrinks in a hot oven. This process - called "denaturing" - is common with chicken and some seafood (like the white albumin that sometimes seeps out of salmon). Some brands of turkey (and some methods of turkey processing) will release more of this substance than others, especially if the turkey was previously frozen, but it's not harmful. If it bugs you, you can brush it off and discard it. Flipping the meatballs halfway through cooking helps prevent this water-and-protein mix from leaking out; we also find that denaturing is less frequent with fresh, high-quality ground meat (like organic ground turkey or meat from our local butcher).