topic Re: MEATBALLS in Recipes

MEATBALLS

qualitygal — Sat, 15 Aug 2015 19:48:47 GMT

I usually buy frozen to use in my spaghetti.

However, others use pasta and different sauces.

How do you do yours? Or do you buy them frozen?

Please share.

Re: MEATBALLS

momtochloe — Sat, 15 Aug 2015 19:51:40 GMT

I personally have given up on making them. Since I cook just for me, I try and cut recipes in half and somehow in the translation I lose something and they just do not come out very well.

Trader Joe's makes a great meatball (both regular and turkey) and I buy those when I am in the mood for spaghetti and meatballs.

Re: MEATBALLS

IamMrsG — Sat, 15 Aug 2015 20:10:33 GMT

Here is the version I make. Leftovers are used for making meatball hoagies.

Meatballs

2 eggs
½ cup milk
Equivalent of 3 slices of white bread, crumbled (can use sandwich buns, etc.)
2 pounds ground chuck
½ cup onion, chopped
2 Tablespoons parsley, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 Tablespoon fennel seed, crushed
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper

Preheat oven to 450º.

Mix eggs, milk and crumbled bread well enough to thoroughly moisten the bread. Set aside as you chop the onion, parsley and garlic. Add these to the bread mixture. Add the fennel, salt and pepper. Mix well to combine.

Add the ground chuck and mix quickly. Do not overwork the beef.

Using a scoop, measure out equal size portions, quickly and gently roll each apportionment into a ball, placing onto a Pam sprayed jelly roll pan as you proceed.

Bake at 450º for 15 minutes, and begin the sauce. After 15 minutes, remove jelly roll pan from the oven, and turn over each meatball. Return to oven for another 15 minutes and move on to making the sauce.

After 30 minutes, total, add meatballs to the waiting sauce. Stir gently, until each meatball is covered with the spaghetti sauce. Cover the pot and turn off the heat. Allow to cool enough to refrigerate overnight.

Re: MEATBALLS

Reba055 — Sat, 15 Aug 2015 20:11:24 GMT

I don't use meatballs, I just brown and drain my ground chuck or sirloin. I do use a good jarred sauce then add a can of petite diced tomatoes(the basil, oregano, olive oil ones) and about a half of pack to a pack of the dried spaghetti seasoning mix and enough water to make the right consistency. Of course salt and pepper and usually sliced mushrooms that I've already sautéed. It turns out really good and is easy peezy. I don't use onions or other veggies because most everyone doesn't like them. Then simmer, simmer, simmer.

Re: MEATBALLS

conlt — Sat, 15 Aug 2015 20:13:10 GMT

My grandmother was Italian and famous in our family for the best meatballs in the world. I try and follow her techniques and I make pretty good meatballs. They are quite easy. I fry them in olive oil and garlic. In my family we would put some in the sauce (homemade of course) after they are fried, so we have fried or in the sauce. We never buy meatballs, I think we were spoiled. All of us rate an Italian resturant on the meatballs alone. LOL

Re: MEATBALLS

IamMrsG — Sat, 15 Aug 2015 20:13:35 GMT

@Reba055

Another good alternative to meatballs is Italian sausage, bulk or link. If links are used, you can slice them into a smaller, coin, sizes.

Re: MEATBALLS

Snowpuppy — Sat, 15 Aug 2015 20:28:17 GMT

I asked for help from some of the Italian women here who made them. They gave me the best advice!

Use cheap cuts of ground beef. I was using sirloin and they turned out like hockey pucks. Handle very little, like a pastry crust they can get tough from over handling.

I tried a couple of bagged versions. They were all pretty meh.

Re: MEATBALLS

spix — Sat, 15 Aug 2015 20:29:52 GMT

I use 3 eggs to 1 lb meat (1/2 beef-1/2pork) lots of parsley, a little bread crumbs, lots of romano grated, garlic, sauteed onion (diced), oregano, s & p, 2-3 Tbsps ricotta cheese, mix well, saute in olive oil, add to sauce close to end of cook time, can freeze & save for another time. I also keep a handful to brown (broken up) & add to sauce. It's the way my Italian relatives made theirs, I also add pork neck bones to the sauce (browned & seasoned)

Well worth the time

Re: MEATBALLS

KentuckyWoman — Sat, 15 Aug 2015 20:47:07 GMT

I use to make my own but there are so many great tasting varieties of frozen meatballs in the grocery store I just don't bother anymore. I also use La Rosa's jarred pasta sauce and add some extra seasonings. Sometimes in the fall or winter I will make my own spaghetti sauce but I never make meatballs anymore.

Re: MEATBALLS

Iwantcoffee — Sat, 15 Aug 2015 20:51:18 GMT

I buy frozen. I can make a pretty good meatloaf but my meatballs are not good.

Re: MEATBALLS

Reba055 — Sun, 16 Aug 2015 04:19:54 GMT

@spix wrote:
I use 3 eggs to 1 lb meat (1/2 beef-1/2pork) lots of parsley, a little bread crumbs, lots of romano grated, garlic, sauteed onion (diced), oregano, s & p, 2-3 Tbsps ricotta cheese, mix well, saute in olive oil, add to sauce close to end of cook time, can freeze & save for another time. I also keep a handful to brown (broken up) & add to sauce. It's the way my Italian relatives made theirs, I also add pork neck bones to the sauce (browned & seasoned)
Well worth the time

Oh, that sounds so good! I'll have to try that one of these days.

Re: MEATBALLS

spix — Sun, 16 Aug 2015 21:21:50 GMT

@Reba055 wrote:
@spix wrote:
I use 3 eggs to 1 lb meat (1/2 beef-1/2pork) lots of parsley, a little bread crumbs, lots of romano grated, garlic, sauteed onion (diced), oregano, s & p, 2-3 Tbsps ricotta cheese, mix well, saute in olive oil, add to sauce close to end of cook time, can freeze & save for another time. I also keep a handful to brown (broken up) & add to sauce. It's the way my Italian relatives made theirs, I also add pork neck bones to the sauce (browned & seasoned)
Well worth the time
Oh, that sounds so good! I'll have to try that one of these days.

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@Hi @ Reba, wish I could give you a more precise recipe but don't have one lol, I usually do about 2-3 lbs of meat so there is plently to freeze for another meal, what you want is a not dry meat mixture, hence the eggs, brown till crisp, inside will be juicy. For my sauce I use puree & tomato paste along with sauteed onions, garlic, & spices of your choice, I love oregano

Re: MEATBALLS

Mothertrucker — Mon, 17 Aug 2015 16:55:09 GMT

I like the idea of using frozen...but the texture leaves me wondering about them... Then if I bite in and get anything hard, like a tiny piece of bone or something...well I am totally grossed out...

i just bought the meat grinder attachment for my KA mixer...can't wait to try grinding my own meats.. I found the foodprocessorbjust doesn't give me the right result...I guess it's not really what it's made for...

Re: MEATBALLS

dfyre — Mon, 17 Aug 2015 17:42:17 GMT

I sure wish I could give you a "precise" recipe, but I learned from my aunt who was a wonderful Italian cook who made everything from scratch and by "feel" - this is what I do:

Use 1/2 "meatloaf mix - beef, veal, pork" and 1/2 ground beef (not lean - about 80%). One egg for each pound of meat. Then, soak day old Italian bread in warm water. Remove crusts and squeeze dry (amount depends on amount of meat being used - maybe two thick slices per pound). Then about 1/4 C. each grated Romano cheese and seasoned breadcrumbs, parsley flakes (fresh chopped if you've got it), garlic powder and freeze-dried minced onion (my aunt used fresh, but I'm a bit lazy). As long as I'm mixing, I'll make a lot and put some of the mixture into a meatloaf pan and freeze for a future meal.

I shape them into balls using an ice cream scoop. My aunt used to fry hers, but I bake mine (less fat AND less time). Then I freeze until I want to make sauce which I do in my crockpot. Yesterday, I made some and used a 1 tsp. cookie scoop to scoop out little balls - froze them on a plate, then transferred to a plastic bag and back to the freezer. These will come in handy for Italian Wedding Soup.

Tried frozen ones once when I was really pressed for time and had none in the freezer - no one would eat them and they ended up in the trash.

Re: MEATBALLS

ID2 — Mon, 17 Aug 2015 19:23:24 GMT

I always keep a huge bag of frozen meatballs from Costco. In a pinch I get some from IKEA. I gave up making mine years ago.

Re: MEATBALLS

LoLa — Mon, 17 Aug 2015 19:28:56 GMT

These below are still my personal favorite!

Chicken Parmesan Meatballs

1 1/4 pounds ground chicken
1/2 cup breadcrumbs (I like Panko or fresh breadcrumbs that I pulse in the processor)
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
2 tablespoon chopped parsley
1/2 cup Pecorino (or Parmesan)
salt to taste
pepper to taste
1 clove garlic, minced
1 egg, whisked
zest of half a lemon
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 14-ounce can store-bought pizza sauce (or your favorite homemade sauce)
about 4 ounces fresh mozzarella

Preheat oven to 400°F, setting rack to upper third part of oven. In a large bowl, using your hands, gently mix together first 10 ingredients. Shape into lacrosse-ball size balls (that would be somewhere between golf and tennis) and place a few inches from each other on a foil-lined baking sheet. In a small bowl, mix one spoonful of your pizza sauce with olive oil. Brush this mixture on top of each meatball. Bake for 15 minutes.
Remove meatballs from oven, spoon some sauce on top of each meatball, and cover each with a slice of cheese. Broil another 3 to 5 minutes until cheese is bubbly and golden. Heat remaining sauce in a small saucepan. Serve meatballs with a dollop of sauce, a fresh salad and some crusty bread.