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Meat Balls

post #1 of 39
1/26/07 at 7:49am
Thread Starter 
I absolutely adore meat balls and have been trying for years to locate the best recipe.So far the best i've found is Rocco Dispirito's Mama's meat balls.Has anyone got a killer recipe?
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post #2 of 39
1/26/07 at 7:53am
Why don't you post that recipe so we can see what you like and maybe try it ourselves?

Shel
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post #3 of 39
1/26/07 at 8:01am
Thread Starter 
Makes 3 dozen
Seasoned stock mix:

- ½ cup chicken stock
- ½ large sweet onion
- 4 cloves garlic, peeled
- ½ bunch parsley, stemmed and coarsely chopped

Meatballs:
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 pound ground pork
- 1 pound ground veal
- ½ cup plain bread crumbs
- 2 to 3 large eggs
- ½ cup Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, grated
- 2 to 3 pinches red pepper flakes
- 2 to 3 pinches salt
- Olive oil for frying
- 4 cups favorite marinara sauce

1. For the seasoned stock: Place chicken stock, onion, garlic and parsley in blender or food processor and purée until smooth.

2. To prepare meatballs: In a large bowl, combine the beef, pork, veal, bread crumbs, eggs, cheese, red pepper and salt with the stock. Mix until the mixture is uniform. Add another egg if the mixture doesn't seem to hold together well. Do not overmix. With lightly oiled hands, form the mixture into balls a little larger than golf balls.

3. Pour about ½ inch of extra virgin olive oil into a straight-sided, wide sauté pan and heat over medium-high heat. In a separate large saucepan, heat the marinara sauce.

4. Working in batches, add the meatballs to the oil and brown, turning once. Using a slotted spoon, remove the meatballs from the oil and place them into the saucepan of marinara. They should be submerged. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes or until the meatballs are cooked through and tender.

5. Serve alone or over spaghetti. (If serving over spaghetti, increase the amount of marinara to 6 cups.)



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post #4 of 39
1/26/07 at 8:02am
Indian Wells, what type of flavors or type of cuisine are you looking for? Italian, Greek, eastern European, etc.? Are they for an hors d'oeuvre or a meal? In a stew or for saucing with pasta?

:roll:

(While I was writing my post your recipe appeared. I don't make this style of meatballs, but I never fry or brown them in the oven first. I just simmer them in whatever sauce I'm using: beef broth that will become egg-lemon sauce, tomato/lemon sauce, sweet and sour sauce.... Then I skim off the grease and go from there.)
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post #5 of 39
1/26/07 at 8:07am
Meatballs Cooked in Sauce

This recipe uses a relatively low proportion of meat. Some cooks and chefs believe this is the secret to good meatballs.

2 pounds freshly ground beef
1 bunch Italian parsley, chopped
1 cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
3 cups bread crumbs
6 eggs
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 quart of your homemade tomato-based sauce

Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl, except oil and sauce. Cover and chill thoroughly (at least two hours).

Heat oil and brown the meatballs. Remove from pan. Heat sauce to boiling. Add meatballs. Turn heat to low. Simmer 30 minutes.

I've not tried this one yet, but I'm curious to know if other feel a lesser proportion of meat is desirable.

Shel
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post #6 of 39
1/26/07 at 8:07am
Thread Starter 
I like them as a main course with tagliatelle.And definitely Italian flavours.:lips:
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post #7 of 39
1/26/07 at 8:11am
Thread Starter 
Thanks Shel,i'll try that one.Interesting it uses a higher ratio of eggs,maybe that'll make a difference?:roll:
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post #8 of 39
1/26/07 at 8:23am
This recipe was featured in a recent episode of Good Eats. It appealed to my sensibilities and might be worth a try.

Baked Meatballs
Alton Brown

1/2 pound ground pork
1/2 pound ground lamb
1/2 pound ground round
5 ounces frozen spinach, thawed and drained thoroughly
1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan
1 whole egg
1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil
1 1/2 teaspoons dried parsley
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 cup bread crumbs, divided

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the pork, lamb, ground round, spinach, cheese, egg, basil, parsley, garlic powder, salt, red pepper flakes, and 1/4 cup of the bread crumbs. Using your hands, mix all ingredients until well incorporated. Use immediately or place in refrigerator for up to 24 hours.

Place the remaining 1/4 cup of bread crumbs into a small bowl. Using a scale, weigh meatballs into 1.5-ounce portions and place on a sheet pan. Using your hands, shape the meatballs into rounds, roll in the bread crumbs and place the meatballs in individual, miniature muffin tin cups.

Bake for 20 minutes or until golden and cooked through.
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post #9 of 39
1/26/07 at 9:05am
The important ingredient in tender meatballs is panade, or your "filler" so to speak. Try soaking your breadcrumbs in beef stock and milk. :)
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post #10 of 39
1/26/07 at 9:29am
I prefer a fork tender meatball.
Like Kuan, I soak my bread crumbs,cheese, in a milk,water,egg mixture.
Never overmix, overroll, or overhandle, at the shop I actually use an ice cream scoop and directly into the pot.
I simmer mine in a quasi light gravy.
Making couple of hundred tomorrow:lol:
pan
is there any other type of meatball other than Italian?:D
oh, BTW I use a romano cheese in the meatballs and parm in the gravy
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post #11 of 39
1/26/07 at 9:46am
The trick for tender meatballs is add the same volume of bread crumbs usely fresh to the amount of meat. As 3 cups meat 3 cups bread crumbs then add your other igridients in your recipe
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post #12 of 39
1/27/07 at 3:04pm

Albondigas Con Salsa de Tomate y Chile de Serrano

Meatballs in Tomato-Serrano Chile Sauce

Meatballs
4 crustless squares of firm white sandwich bread torn into small pieces
1/3 cup whole milk
1/4 cup finely chopped white onion
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp fine sea salt
1 tsp dried Mexican oregano
1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1 lb lean ground beef
1 lb lean ground pork
1 cup finely chopped seeded tomatoes (about 4 medium)
2 large egges
1/4 cup chopped fresh mint

Sauce
4 medium serrano chiles, stemmed
2 medium-sized cloves garlic, unpeeled
4 14 1/2 cans diced tomatoes in juice
1 cup water
1 tsp fine sea salt
1/4 cup oil (high-heat safflower or other veg oil)
1 cup water
1 tsp fine sea salt

Mexican White Rice (see recipe below)

FOR MEATBALLS: Combine bread, milk, onion, garlic, salt, oregano, and pepper in a large bowl. Mash with fork until thick paste forms. Mix in beef, pork, tomatoes, eggs, and mint. Mixture will be soft.
Using 1/4 cupful for each, form mixture into 2-inch balls. Place on baking sheet and chill while making sauce.

FOR SAUCE: Line heavy small skillet with foil, add chiles and garlic. Over medium-high heat cook until skins start to blister and blacken, turning frequently, for about 15-minutes. Allow garlic to cool a bit, then peel.
Working in batches, puree tomatoes with juice, whole chiles, and garlic until almost smooth. (Meatballs and puree can be prepared up to six hours ahead).

Heat oil in heavy large wide pan over med-high heat, add tomatoes (from meatball ingredients) to puree, 1 cup water (or reserved juices from other canned tomatoes), and salt. Bring to a boil. Carefully add meatballs, bring to simmer, reduce heat, cover and simmer until meatballs are cooked through, stirring occasionally, for about 30 minutes. Uncover and gently boil until liquid id reduced to sauce consistency, stirring occasionally, about 18 - 20 minutes.
Spoon Mexican While Rice into shallow bowls, top rice with meatballs and tomato-serrano sauce.

MEXICAN WHITE RICE
2-Tbs vegetable oil (Safflower, canola, etc.)
3-med garlic cloves, peeled and halved
3/4 cup finely chopped white onion
1 1/2 cups medium-grain white rice
3 cups hot water
2 large, fresh, Italian parsley sprigs
1 1/4 tsp fine sea salt

Heat oil in heavy medium saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic, saut until deep brown, about 3 minutes. Discard garlic. Add onion and saut until tender, about five minutes. Add rice, stir five minutes. Add 3-cups hot water, parsley, and salt. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to med-low, cover and simmer until almost all the liquid is gone, about 15-minutes. Stir rice, recover, and simmer until almost all the liquid is absorbed, about 15-minutes. Stir rice, recover, and continue to simmer until rice is tender, about five more minutes. Remove from heat and let stand, covered, about 10-minutes. Remove parsley, fluff with fork.
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post #13 of 39
1/31/07 at 12:30am
Couple hundred meatballs? Ok everyone to Pan's for dinner- BYOF (bring your own fork) I thought you owned a bakery? (would be a unique cake top..???LOL)
and yes there are OTHER kids of meatballs...LOL I make a nice asian ginger sauce/glaze for mine sometimes.....
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post #14 of 39
1/31/07 at 5:29am
Mmmm .... sounds nice. Care to post a recipe?

And let's not forget the ubiquitous Swedish meatballs, Kottbullar (sp?) and Mexican meatballs, Albondigas - I'm sure there are lots of others <LOL>

Shel
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post #15 of 39
1/31/07 at 4:18pm
for my tastes, Rocco Dispirito's Mama's meat ball recipe is way to 'busy'. There seems to be a trend these days that the more stuff you put into a recipe, the better it is.
That is a false assumption. Simple is almost always better.
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post #16 of 39
1/31/07 at 7:49pm
yes I agree meat bread crumbs garlic onions lots of parsley and parm. cheese
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post #17 of 39
2/1/07 at 12:04am
I find that
eggs make stuff dry
milk makes stuff soft
if you want a dry meatball, put more eggs (seems paradoxical because the mixture gets more moist, but think of hard boiled eggs - dry! - when they cook they get hard - they're good for binding, not for moistening). If you like them soft, put milk in teh bread crumbs.

I soak the bread crumbs in milk (never measured for a meatball, but say, a couple of handfuls crumbs for every pound of meat, and enough milk to make it soppy, not liquid.
I add an egg, two handfuls of grated parmigiano (the real stuff please)
a grated onion
a squashed garlic
parsley if you like but frankly i can;t really taste the difference, though it does look nice seeing dots of green poking out through the meat
If i want an herb, i will use thyme

I always brown them first, i find the flavor is enhanced and the sauce is better, if i'm cooking them in a sauce

note, italian meatballs in italy, at least, are definitely not always cooked in sauce, in fact rarely are, and the meatballs are definitely used as a second course, not with the pasta. If they're cooked in sauce, they are removed (at least in all the regions i've been in - maybe there are some places that don't) and eaten after the pasta course. (Just to give you an idea, my mother in law once told me, like she made a big discovery - "I used the meatball sauce on the pasta! I think she felt she was being quite clever, having saved herself the work of making two sauces!)

How are they cooked when not in sauce? slowly browned in oil, remove, add brandy or wine, deglaze. Often they're quite big, and are sliced (halfway between a pan-cooked meat loaf and a meatball)

Tiny meatballs are often cooked in fancy holiday soups, like zuppa alla sante', a christmas soup with cardoons, chicken broth, meatballs, served over toasted bread, or in lasagne in certain regions, or in "timballo" a pasta dish where pasta is mixed with all kinds of stuff, meatballs, peas, hard boiled eggs, sauce, cheese, an egg, and then baked in a casserole dish till cooked, and unmolded. (a nice variation is to line the casserole with slices of grilled or sauteed eggplant).
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post #18 of 39
2/1/07 at 8:41am
we do have a small lunch. The meatballs were a weekly special that turned into a daily item.

btw Mexican Meatballs, no such thing, sorry
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post #19 of 39
2/1/07 at 8:52am
Not according to an article in a back issue of Bon Appetit. I posted the recipe earlier in this thread. Could Bon Appetit be wrong <LOL>?

Shel
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post #20 of 39
2/3/07 at 10:33am
Meatballs are my favotire food too. I often make them. I like Swedish Meatballs most of all. The recipe is easy too:

1/4 cup fine dry bread crumbs
1 medium red onion, finely chopped
1/2 pound ground beef
1/2 pound ground pork
1 large egg
salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons parsley
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post #21 of 39
2/3/07 at 10:35am
I wanted to post a picture of Swedish Meatballs but I can't yet. :( Maybe soon. ;)
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post #22 of 39
2/3/07 at 11:51pm
Shel-
Sorry to reply so late- haven't had time to get online lately. Recipe for sauce- Carmelize 1/2 c sugar, add 1/2 c chicken broth, 2 Tbsp fresh squeezed orange juice, 2 tsp grated ginger, and 1/2 tsp minced garlic- heat until added ingredients are all mixed. Pour over meatballs. Great for chicken cutletts too.
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post #23 of 39
2/5/07 at 12:26am
Pan- Mexican???
Asian.... LOL What city are you in? My sister has a conference in Houston this week....
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post #24 of 39
7/12/10 at 7:01pm

I was just looking up past threads on meatballs, because I'm going to make some American style spaghetti and meatballs tomorrow or maybe Wednesday. I've got good quality ground beef thawing.

 

I'm planning on using bread soaked in egg, fresh Italian parsley, grated purple garlic, some parmesan cheese (might be Kraft, who knows), salt, good quality freshly ground black pepper, and maybe a touch of ground ancho chiles. Ancho chiles are not at all standard, but I think they will be good for a variation.

 

Since the meat is all beef so far, I'm wondering if bacon diced tiny and mixed in, will help. I'll buy other meat if that will make it better, but maybe I can make something good with the meat I have on hand (ground beef, bacon--nothing special, and prosciutto, which might have no place here).

 

Nothing at all traditional going on here right now

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post #25 of 39
7/12/10 at 7:07pm

Now I realized maybe I shouldn't have called this American-style.

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post #26 of 39
7/12/10 at 8:33pm

Meatballs - yum.  Maybe I should whip up a batch to go into a light broth with some cheese tortelinni...

 

 

meatballs.jpg

 

 

mjb.

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post #27 of 39
7/13/10 at 5:41am

OY, you may or may not need the additional fat. What's the fat/lean ratio on the chop meat you've got in the freezer?

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post #28 of 39
7/13/10 at 5:46pm

I like to use ground chuck and pork. Some throw in veal but I do not. I use about a one pound ratio with 1/3 pork and the rest ground chuck. One slice of bread soaked in buttermilk, one egg yolk, 1/2 cup of Parmesan, salt pepper, garlic and fresh parsley. Fry them up in olive oil and they are great.

 

One of the secrets to a great meatball is to NOT pack it too tightly.  For a more Greek style I add lightly sautéed onions, mint and a bit of cinnamon.

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post #29 of 39
7/13/10 at 9:34pm

i did a batch of  Buffalo Chicken meatball today. Pretty good but room for improvement particularly in getting the sauce to adhere better to the meatball.

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post #30 of 39
7/13/10 at 10:06pm

These came out really good. I didn't add any additional fat (bacon), but I used plenty of egg and bread. I didn't know the fat content but it seemed pretty lean. The texture is really good. I can tell there's a bit of ancho chile in it only because I added it--it adds good flavor, but it would be hard to put your finger on if you didn't know that. The purple garlic in it is unmistakable and delicious (better than plain white garlic).

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